Raphaël Poulain (born 16 August 1980,

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, Somme) 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 ...

player. He played on the wing. His first club was the

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

club, until 1998 when he signed for

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

. He was considered to be one of the brightest hopes in the French rugby scene, until his career was ended prematurely after numerous injuries in 2005. These injuries caused him to miss no fewer than 6 major finals and decline a call-up to the French national side, before eventually succumbing to the curse.

External links

Interview on the Stade Français website, 2001
1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Amiens French rugby union players Rugby union wings Stade Français players {{France-rugbyunion-bio-stub