Jean Pierre Clar (born 27 February 1942), also known by the
nicknames of ''"Jap"'', ''"Nam"'', ''"Le chinois"'' ("The Chinese") and ''"Tronche d'obus"'' ("Howitzer head"), is a French former professional
rugby league and amateur
rugby union footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
He played representative level rugby league (RL) for
France in the
1968 Rugby League World Cup
The 1968 Rugby League World Cup tournament was the fourth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and was held in Australia and New Zealand during May and June in 1968. Contested by the men's national rugby league football teams of the two host ...
and
1970 Rugby League World Cup
The fifth Rugby League World Cup was held in Great Britain in 1970. Britain, fresh from defeating Australia in the Rugby League Ashes, Ashes during their Australasian tour earlier in the year (the last time as of 2017 that they would win The Ash ...
, and at club level for
US Villeneuve XIII (two spells), as a or , i.e. number 9 or 13, during the era of contested
scrums, and he played club level rugby union (RU) for
SU Agen, as a
flanker
Flanker may refer to:
* Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one
* Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league)
* ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...
, i.e. number 6 or 7.
Background
Jean-Pierre Clar born in
Hanoi,
French Indochina from a French father and a
Vietnamese mother.
As a player, he is considered not very heavy, neither very fast, but having "a style at any speed of execution as he was technically to the point"
He debuted in
rugby league for
Villeneuve XIII alongside his brother
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, before returning there after his rugby union period. In fact, he played three seasons for
SU Agen, winning a
French Championship title in
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...
. With Villeneuve, he won the
French Championship in 1964. Called up for the
France national team
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area e ...
, he earned 34 caps between 1965 and 72.
One of his notable feats was on 6 March 1967, during a match against
Great Britain national team in
Wigan, a match where he exemplified himself by his pugnacity and his resistance to bad gestures from opposing players (notably, from
Bill Bryant) which would earn him the applause of the British public at the end of the match.
Outside the field, he is a company manager, after working as a "locksmith welder".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clar, Jean Pierre
1942 births
Living people
France national rugby league team captains
France national rugby league team players
French people of Vietnamese descent
French rugby league players
French rugby union players
Rugby league hookers
Rugby league locks
Rugby union flankers
Sportspeople from Hanoi
Sportspeople of Vietnamese descent
Villeneuve Leopards players
SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players