Issam Hamel (born 16 June 1997) is an Algerian

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays for

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze, Corrèze department. Brive is a historical member of French rugby un ...

in the

Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

. He predominately plays hooker.

Club career

CS Bourgoin-Jallieu

Hamel began his career at

CS Bourgoin-Jallieu CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club competing in the third level of the French league system, Nationale. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the French Cup competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup. F ...

joining as a cadet while at school. He made his debut for the senior side while still being part of the squads espoirs.

Racing 92

He joined

Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

in 2018 signing a 3-year contract with the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

giants. However, after 2 years with only 2 appearances, totalling on 31 minutes, he left to join USON Nevers seeking more game time.

USON Nevers

He made his debut for the

side in Round One of the 2020/21 season coming off the bench. In his first season he amassed 27 appearances only missing 3 games. In three seasons at the club he only missed 10 games, scoring 22 tries in 83 appearances.

CA Brive

In 2023 Hamel signed a two-year contract at

International career

Hamel made his debut for the Algerian national side in 2017, featuring in a 36–13 win over

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

in the Maghreb Tri-nations. He featured in the squad that came 3rd in the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamel, Issam Living people 1997 births Algerian rugby union players CS Bourgoin-Jallieu players Racing 92 players USON Nevers players CA Brive players Rugby union players from Lyon Metropolis French rugby union players Rugby union hookers 21st-century French sportsmen