Fabien Pelous (born 7 December 1973) is a retired French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer. A

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

who also occasionally played as a number eight and flanker, he played the bulk of his professional career for Stade Toulousain, and is the all-time leader in appearances for the French national team. He retired as the most-capped lock for any nation in rugby history, with 100 of his 118 France appearances at that position, a record later broken by

South Africa's South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Victor Matfield Victor Matfield (born 11 May 1977) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for and captained the South Africa national team (Springboks) as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Bulls franchise in Super ...

. Pelous was inducted into the

World Rugby Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

in 2017.

Early life

The son of a family of local farmers, Pelous was born in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

and was introduced to rugby in

Saverdun Saverdun (; Languedocien: ''Savardun'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Saverdun are called ''Saverdunois'' in French. Name Saverdun gave its name to the former city of Verdun, Queb ...

International career

Pelous made his test début on 17 October 1995 against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He proved himself an inspirational captain for France after succeeding

Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié (; born 20 March 1969) is a French rugby union coach and former player, he is currently the head coach of the French national team. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later ...

ahead of the 2004 RBS 6 Nations and enjoyed immediate success, leading ''Les Bleus'' to the

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in his first year and followed that up with a second-placed finish in 2005. Pelous missed the summer test matches in 2005 with a serious knee injury. He returned to action in September and helped France to a 26–16 win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in November. However, he was handed a nine-week ban in the aftermath of that victory after being found guilty of elbowing Australia hooker

Brendan Cannon Brendan Cannon (born 5 April 1973) is a former Australian rugby union footballer who played for the national team, The Wallabies and three Australian teams in the Super 12 and Super 14 competitions. Cannon played for both the Queensland Reds ...

. He was due to equal Philippe Sella's record of 111 caps for France in the opener of the 2007 Six Nations against , but was ruled out of the side due to an ankle injury. After he missed their second Six Nations tie against , he was ruled out of the entire Six Nations. After his injury troubles continued, hooker

Raphaël Ibañez Raphaël Ibañez (born 17 February 1973) is a retired French rugby union footballer. A hooker, he represented the France national team 98 times, and as captain 41 times. After a career in club rugby management, he became Team Manager for France ...

, who had filled in for him as captain during the 2007 Six Nations, was named as France captain for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, with Pelous as unofficial vice-captain. He finally earned his record-equalling 111th cap on 11 August 2007 at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

against , and took the record by himself a week later in ''Les Bleus return match against England at Marseille. He ended his international career after the 2007 Rugby World Cup with 118 caps, 42 of them as France captain.Most-capped French player Fabien Pelous retires
France 24, 23 April 2009 He was the first French captain to have beaten Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Club career

Pelous helped

win the European Cup twice, and the

French Championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

also three times before retiring from the game in 2009.

Coaching

In April 2009, it was announced that Pelous would retire at the end of the 2008/09 season. During his last season at Toulouse, he took up a part-time role as an assistant coach of

France A France A, also known as France XV and France B in the past, was the former name of the second national rugby union team of France behind the French national side. In 2011 the French Rugby Federation designated the France U20 team as the second ...

Awards

The night after the 2007 World Cup Final, Pelous was recognized at the IRB Awards, receiving the International Rugby Players' Association Special Merit Award.

Personal life

In his spare time, Pelous is involved in a winemaking venture that he started in 2002 with France football international

Djibril Cissé Djibril Cissé (; born 12 August 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. He started his career at AC Arles in 1989, at the age of eight. After seven years at the club, he had a six-month spell at Nîmes Oly ...

. Pelous' name is the

francization Francization (in American English, Canadian English, and Oxford English) or Francisation (in other British English), Frenchification, or Gallicization is the expansion of French language use—either through willful adoption or coercion—by more ...

of ''pelós'', which means "hairy" in the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Vall ...

References

External links

Fabien Pelous
ESPN Scrum.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelous, Fabien French rugby union coaches French rugby union players Stade Toulousain players World Rugby Awards winners Rugby union flankers Rugby union locks Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Toulouse 1973 births Living people France international rugby union players World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees US Dax players