Sébastien Viars (born 24 June 1971) is a former French rugby union footballer. He was nicknamed "The Compass". He played as a centre and as a wing. Viars was born at

Aurillac Aurillac (; oc, Orlhac ) is the prefecture of the Cantal department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aurillacois'' or ''Aurillacoises''. Geography Aurillac is at above sea leve ...

. He played at

Stade Aurillacois Stade Aurillacois Cantal Auvergne (commonly known as Aurillac) is a French professional rugby union club that was founded in 1904 and currently play in the Rugby Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Aurillac`s home matches are mostly play ...

(1989/90-1991/92),

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 department. They compete in the first-tier Top 14 competition. Briv ...

(1992/93-1997/98), where he won the Cup of France, in 1995/96,

Stade français Paris Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...

(1998/99), winning once more the Cup of France, and ASM Clermont (1999/2000-2005/06), where he would finish his career. He won the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

, in 1997, with

, scoring an anthological try in the 28–9 win over

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

, from England. Even in a short international career, he's usually considered one of the best French players of his generation. Viars held 17 caps for France, from 1992 to 1997, scoring 9 tries, 17 penalties and 17 conversions, 127 points in aggregate. He played two times at the Five Nations, in 1992 and 1995, scoring 4 tries, 6 conversions and 4 penalties, 41 points in aggregate. He scored a record of 26 points, 2 tries, 5 conversions and 2 penalties, in the 44–12 win over Ireland, at 21 March 1992. He was also one of the top try scorers of the competition with 3 tries. Viars was selected for the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

finals, playing a single game, in the 54–18 win over

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

and scoring a try. Viars wasn't called again for the National Team since 1997, when he was only 26 years old.Sébastien Viars International Statistics
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References

External links

1971 births Living people French rugby union players Stade Français players CA Brive players ASM Clermont Auvergne players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings France international rugby union players People from Aurillac Sportspeople from Cantal {{france-rugbyunion-bio-stub