Joël Roosebrouck, (born in

La Cavalerie La Cavalerie (; oc, La Cavalariá) is a Communes of France, commune in the Aveyron Departments of France, department in southern France. During the 1970s it became the focal point of Fight for the Larzac, peasant resistance to the proposed ext ...

, 9 September 1953) is a French

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

player who played as lock forward.

Biography

In 1973, at the age of 19, Roosebrouck started his rugby career. He joined the small club Bias XIII in

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, oc, Òlt e Garona) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Villeneuve-sur-Lot Villeneuve-sur-Lot (; in the Languedocien dialect of Occitan language: ''Vilanuèva d'Òlt'' ) is a town and commune in the southwestern French department of Lot-et-Garonne. The commune was formerly named ''Villeneuve-d'Agen''. Villeneuve-sur-L ...

, where he proved himself in a sport which was a passion for him since the beginning. He, who was nicknamed ''La Rouille'' (the

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...

) due to his hair colour, became the emblematic lock forward of the Villeneuve club, giving him "the chance to play with Hermet, to play in tandem with Mazaré and take advantage from Gruppi's advice". Called up for the France junior team since 1976, a year later, he joined the senior team in 1977 for his first tour in Oceania. After a rookie period at Bias, he joined

Villeneuve-sur-Lot Villeneuve-sur-Lot (; in the Languedocien dialect of Occitan language: ''Vilanuèva d'Òlt'' ) is a town and commune in the southwestern French department of Lot-et-Garonne. The commune was formerly named ''Villeneuve-d'Agen''. Villeneuve-sur-L ...

, where he played for a great part of his career before ending it playing for Trentels. His spell at Villeneuve was marked by a

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. ...

title in 1980. His club performances made him eligible for the France national team which he captained. He notably took part in the

1977 Rugby League World Cup The 1977 Rugby League World Cup was the eighth Rugby League World Cup tournament and was held in Australasia, with games played during May and June in both Australia and New Zealand. It featured four teams: Great Britain and France in addition t ...

and also took part in several French tours in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s. Elected various times as "man of the match", "sportsman of the month", "of the year", "best sportsman from Lot-et-Garonne" at the Oscar du Sud-Ouest and also enthroned as "Paladin", of several marks of recognition gratified him. From 1984, Roosebrouck started gradually to retire from the French national team to end his rugby career in his club, Villeneuve-sur-Lot, with which he won the Lord Derby Cup that year. Later, in 1986, he joined the Second Division club Trentels-Ladignac and would retire himself after the club won a French second division title..

Honours

Club

* Champion of the

: 1980 (

). * Champion of the

Lord Derby Cup The French Rugby League Cup (french: Coupe de France de Rugby à XIII), also called Lord Derby Cup (french: Coupe Lord Derby) after its championship trophy, is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France. Th ...

: 1979 and 1984 (

). * Runner-up at the

: 1983 and 1984 (

International

*Champion of the

Rugby League European Championship The Rugby League European Championship (formerly known as the European Cup and European Nations Cup) is a rugby league football tournament for European national teams that was first held in 1935. Originally, the European Cup had three teams, wi ...

: 1977 (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

)

References

External links

Joël Roosebrouck profile at Rugby League Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosebrouck, Joel 1953 births Living people France national rugby league team captains France national rugby league team players French rugby league players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Occitania (administrative region) Sportspeople from Aveyron US Trentels XIII players Villeneuve Leopards players