Pascal Papé (; born 5 October 1980) is a former 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. Papé played as 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 ...

, and currently most recently represented Stade Français in club rugby, after spending many years at

Bourgoin Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of th ...

. He also spent one season at Castres Olympique. He earned his first test cap for

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 ...

against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the 2004 Six Nations Championship, scoring a try in the 35–17 victory. Papé was overlooked for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and under new coach

Marc Lièvremont Marc Lièvremont (born 28 October 1968) is a former rugby union footballer and was the head coach of the French national rugby union team. He played as a back-row forward for France, gaining 25 caps from 1995 to 1999, and was selected in France's ...

he struggled to hold down a regular place in the starting line-up. He was a member of the squad that won the Grand Slam during the 2010 Six Nations Championship, but made just one appearance during the 2011 Six Nations Championship, and that was off the bench against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. However, he was selected as part of the provisional squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. Papé's subsequent form saw him elevated into the starting line-up for the games against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Wales and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, in which he performed admirably. He was in the starting XV in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final, which saw the All Blacks win narrowly 8–7. From 2012, he was elevated to Vice Captain behind

Thierry Dusautoir Thierry Dusautoir (; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed i ...

, by newly appointed head coach

Philippe Saint-André Philippe Georges Saint-André (; born 19 April 1967) is a former French rugby union footballer and currently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wing but he ...

. He was named Captain for the 2012 France rugby union tour of Argentina and the

2012 end-of-year rugby union internationals 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...

. The end of year rugby tests were a great point in French rugby, haven beaten

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 ...

33–6,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

39–22 and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

22–14. Subsequently, Papé was retained as captain for the 2013 Six Nations Championship, but later replaced by Thierry Dusautoir following injury. France finished 6th that Championship.

References

External links

France profile
at FFR

at ESPN Scrum Pascal Pape 2011

1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Lyon French rugby union players France international rugby union players Rugby union locks {{France-rugbyunion-bio-stub