The Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians, is a

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 it ...

team formed in 1979 and based in France. It was founded as an amateur invitational team modeled on the

Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

From the start of the 2017–18 season, the French Barbarians became the official second national team of the

French Rugby Federation The French Rugby Federation (french: Fédération Française de Rugby (''FFR'')) is the governing body for rugby union in France. It is responsible for the French national team and the Ligue nationale de rugby that administers the country's profe ...

, which had previously designated either the France U20 side or France A as that team. The French Barbarians play in sky, navy and royal blue hooped jerseys. As with the original Barbarians, players retain the socks from their "home" club strip.

History

Jean-Claude Skrela Jean-Claude Skrela (born 1 October 1949 in Colomiers, Haute-Garonne) is a former coach of the French national rugby union team. His son, David Skrela, is a French rugby union player and his daughter, Gaëlle Skrela, is a professional basketbal ...

founded the club after he had played for, and adored, the original

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

in the later days of his career. Through the amateur era, all players chosen for the side were either French or played for French clubs. One of the most recent matches was against the Argentina national team (Los Pumas) in early 2007, as part of their preparation for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. For the game, held in Biarritz, the coaches were Jacques Delmas (Biarritz), Patrice Lagisquet (Biarritz) and were captained by Thomas Lièvremont. While in 2008 they beat

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in Victoria. They played with Argentina at

José Amalfitani Stadium The José Amalfitani Stadium is a stadium located in the Liniers neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, near Liniers railway station. The venue is the home of the Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sarsfield and is also known as ''El Fort ...

in Buenos Aires on 20 June 2009 as part of the mid-year test series, and lost 32–18. In 2016 the French Barbarians beat Australia XV by 19–11 in their first match against an Australian side for over twenty years. And in late 2017 they beat the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...

19–15 in the Autumn internationals, which was the first time playing that side.

Matches against international sides

Overall

Current squad

French Barbarians squad to face the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on 1 July 2022 as part of the 2022 mid-year rugby union tests. Coaches: Christian Labit and

Kevin Gourdon Kevin Gourdon (born 23 January 1990) is a former French rugby union player. He played as a flanker for French Top 14 side La Rochelle and the France national team. International career Gourdon made his debut for France in June 2016 and was par ...

Note: Bold denotes players that have represented the French Barbarians in previous matches. ''Italics'' represents uncapped players.

Former players

Malik Hamadache Malik Hamadache (born 6 December 1988) is a French-Algerian rugby union player who currently plays for Section Paloise and is an Algerian international. He plays as a prop. Playing career Malik Hamadache was born in Avignon in a family wher ...

* Miguel Avramovic * Lucas Borges * Mauricio Reggiardo *

Alberto Vernet Basualdo Alberto Vernet Basualdo (born June 8, 1982) is an Argentine rugby union player. His position is hooker. He started playing in Buenos Aires for Asociación Alumni and for Stade Toulousain, Toulouse in France four years; he also played for the Argent ...

David Campese David Ian Campese, AM (born 21 October 1962), also known as Campo, is a former Australian rugby union player (1982-1996), who was capped by the Wallabies 101 times, and played 85 Tests at wing and 16 at fullback. He retired in 1996 and was aw ...

John Eales John Eales AM (born 27 June 1970) is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby. In 1999, he became one of the first players to win multiple Rugby World Cups. Early life Eales ...

Nick Farr-Jones Nicholas Campbell Farr-Jones AM (born 18 April 1962) is a former Australian rugby union footballer. His position was scrum-half. He is probably best remembered for winning the 1991 Rugby World Cup with his team against England. He now works at ...

* James O'Connor * George Smith * Robins Tchale-Watchou * Mike James * Silvère Tian * Richard Pool-Jones *

Peter Winterbottom Peter James Winterbottom (born 31 May 1960 in Otley, West Yorkshire), is a former England rugby union footballer who played as an openside flanker. He was England's most-capped openside (with 58 caps) until being overtaken by Neil Back in 20 ...

Rupeni Caucaunibuca Rupeni Caucaunibuca (; born 5 June 1980) is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer who last played professionally for Northland in the ITM Cup. His nickname was the "Bua Bullet" as he hailed from the province of Bua. Early years Caucaunibuca ...

Waisale Serevi Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi (born 20 May 1968) is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long car ...

Marika Vunibaka Marika "Dawainavesi" Vunibaka (born 3 November 1974) is a Fijian former rugby union player. He represented the Fiji national team on numerous occasions, including at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales and the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. ...

* Louis Armary *

David Aucagne David Aucagne (born 14 February 1973) is a retired France, French rugby union player. Aucagne, who played at Rugby union positions#10. Fly-half, fly-half, has been the coach of the France national under-20 rugby union team, French under-20 team sin ...

* Teddy Baubigny * Alexi Balès * Pierre-Louis Barassi *

Abdelatif Benazzi Abdelatif Benazzi ( ar, عبد اللطيف بن عزي; born 20 August 1968) is a French- Moroccan rugby union player who represented both Morocco and France.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p71 He play ...

* Philippe Benetton * Pierre Berbizier * Philippe Bernat-Salles * Serge Betsen * Serge Blanco * Éric Bonneval * Olivier Brouzet *

Nicolas Brusque Nicolas Brusque (born 7 August 1976 in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is a French former rugby union footballer. He has played for the French national team, including being a part of their 2003 Rugby World Cup squad. He usually played at fullback. ...

* Laurent Cabannes *

Jean-Marie Cadieu Jean-Marie Cadieu (born 16 October 1963 in Tulle) is a former French rugby union player. He played as a lock. Cadieu played for Stade Toulousain from 1982/83 to 1992/93, where he won 3 titles of the French Championship, in 1984/85, 1985/86 and 198 ...

* Didier Camberabero * Louis Carbonel * Alain Carminati *

Thomas Castaignède Thomas Castaignède (born 21 January 1975) is a rugby union footballer from Mont-de-Marsan. Born in Mont-de-Marsan, Aquitaine, Castaignède played as a junior and senior for Stade Montois in various positions, initially as fly-half or centre, ...

* Richard Castel * Marc Cécillon * Denis Charvet * Gérard Cholley * Vincent Clerc * Didier Codorniou * Franck Comba * Jean Condom * Jean-Jacques Crenca *

Dylan Cretin Dylan Cretin (Born 4 May 1997) is a crouton loving French rugby union player. His usual position is as a Flanker, and he currently plays for Lyon OU in the Top 14. In January 2020, Cretin was called into the France national rugby union team, Fren ...

* Marc Dal Maso * Marc de Rougemont *

Christophe Deylaud Christophe Deylaud (born 2 October 1964 in Toulouse) is a French former rugby union footballer and a current coach. He played as a fly-half and as a centre. Deylaud first played at Portet-sur-Garonne, and from there moved to Blagnac SCR, where ...

Philippe Dintrans Philippe Dintrans (born 29 January 1957, in Tarbes) is a former French rugby union player and a current entrepreneur. He played as a hooker. He played all his career at Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby, starting at 1967, aged 10 years old, and joining the f ...

Christophe Dominici Christophe Dominici (20 May 1972 – 24 November 2020) was a French rugby union player. In a career spanning seventeen years between 1991 and 2008, he played wing for Stade Français and France, scoring a total of 25 tries in 67 international c ...

* Yves Donguy * Pierre Dospital * Michel Droitecourt * Daniel Dubroca * Jean-Baptiste Elissalde * Jean-Pierre Elissalde * Dominique Erbani * Jérôme Fillol *

Jacques Fouroux Jacques Fouroux (24 July 1947 – 17 December 2005) was a French rugby union player and coach. He captained France when they won the Grand Slam in 1977, and was the manager when the side repeated the feat in 1981 and 1987. Player Fouroux, who p ...

Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié (; born 20 March 1969) is a French rugby union coach and former player, he is currently the head coach of the French national team. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later ...

* Xavier Garbajosa * Jean-Pierre Garuet-Lempirou * Stéphane Glas * Arthur Gomes * Jean-Michel Gonzalez * Antoine Guillamon * Francis Haget * Dominique Harize *

Cédric Heymans Cédric Heymans (born 20 July 1978) is a French former rugby union footballer who played mainly as a wing or a full-back for French Top 14 club Toulouse and the French national team. Known for his pace and his footwork, he started his club car ...

Aubin Hueber Aubin Hueber (born 5 April 1967, in Tarbes) is a former French rugby union player and a current coach. He played for the French national team as a scrum half (1.75 m for 75 kg). From 2003 to 2006, he was a player-coach at the Rugby Club of Toulo ...

* Jean-François Imbernon * Jean-Luc Joinel * Jordan Joseph * Jean-Baptiste Lafond * Patrice Lagisquet *

Guy Laporte Guy Laporte (15 December 1952 – 28 January 2022) was a French rugby union player and a sports executive. He played as a fly-half. Career Laporte was born in Beaufort, Haute-Garonne, Beaufort, French Fourth Republic, France. He first played for ...

* Christophe Laussucq *

Jean-Patrick Lescarboura Jean-Patrick Lescarboura (born Monein, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 19 January 1961) is a former French rugby union footballer and coach. His position was fly-half. Lescarboura first team was SA Monein. He spent afterwards his career at US Dax, from 19 ...

* Marc Lièvremont * Thomas Lièvremont * Sylvain Marconnet * Jimmy Marlu * Tony Marsh *

Rémy Martin Rémy Martin () is a French firm that primarily produces and sells cognac. Founded in 1724 and based in the commune of Cognac, it is among the oldest cognac producers still in existence. and one of the "big four" cognac houses (along with Henne ...

* Olivier Merle * Franck Mesnel * Frédéric Michalak * Vincent Moscato *

Émile Ntamack Émile "Milou" Ntamack (born 25 June 1970) is a French former rugby union footballer. He played professionally for Stade Toulousain and France, winning 46 caps. Ntamack made his French debut against Wales during the 1994 Five Nations Championshi ...

Romain Ntamack Romain Ntamack (born 1 May 1999) is a French rugby union fly-half who currently plays for Toulouse in the Top 14, and the France national rugby union team. International career In November 2017, Ntamack was selected for the French Barbarian te ...

* Pascal Ondarts *

Alain Paco Alain Paco (born 1 March 1952) is a former French rugby union player and a current coach. He played as a hooker. He played for AS Béziers. He went to win six titles of French Champion, for 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978. Paco earned his ...

* Michel Palmié *

Boris Palu Boris Palu (born 4 February 1996) is a French professional rugby union player. He currently plays at lock for Racing 92 in the Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the ...

* Robert Paparemborde * Laurent Pardo * Adrien Pélissié *

Fabien Pelous Fabien Pelous (born 7 December 1973) is a retired French rugby union footballer. A lock who also occasionally played as a number eight and flanker, he played the bulk of his professional career for Stade Toulousain, and is the all-time leader i ...

* Jean-Baptiste Poux *

Thibaut Privat Thibaut Privat (born 4 February 1979) is a former French international rugby union player. He played as a Lock for AS Béziers, Montferrand and Montpellier. He was called up as an injury replacement for Olivier Brouzet at the 2003 Rugby World ...

* Pierre Rabadan * Swan Rebbadj * Arthur Retière *

Jean-Pierre Rives Jean-Pierre Rives (born 31 December 1952) is a French former rugby union player and visual artist. "A cult figure in France", according to the '' BBC'', he came to epitomise the team's spirit and "ultra-committed, guts-and-glory style of play".

* Laurent Rodriguez * Jean-Pierre Romeu * Aurélien Rougerie * Olivier Roumat *

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 ...

* Jean-Luc Sadourny * Philippe Sella * David Skrela *

Cédric Soulette Cédric Soulette (born 30 May 1972) is a French rugby union footballer. He currently plays for the AS Béziers club. In the past, he also played for Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Ga ...

* Jérôme Thion * Jean-François Tordo * Diego Domínguez * Hugo MacNeill *

Fergus Slattery John Fergus Slattery (born 12 February 1949 in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland) is a former rugby union player who represented Ireland. He played schools rugby for Blackrock College and then moved on to play senior rugby for UCD, before earning a call ...

* Ian Jones * Josh Kronfeld *

Simon Mannix Simon James Mannix (born 10 August 1971 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand) is a former rugby union footballer who now serves as head coach of Pau in the Top 14 having previously worked as backs coach for Munster and Racing Metro. Mannix played one tes ...

* Chris Masoe * David Smith * Grzegorz Kacała *

Naas Botha Hendrik Egnatius 'Naas' Botha (born 27 February 1958) is a South African former rugby union player, who played for Northern Transvaal and South Africa (the Springboks). He was voted ''Rugby Player of the Year'' in 1979, 1981, 1985 and 1987. B ...

* Brett Gosper * Filipo Toala

Honours

Melrose Sevens Melrose Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Melrose Rugby Club, at The Greenyards in Melrose, Scotland. It is the oldest rugby sevens competition in the world, dating back to 1883 when the tournament was suggested by former Melrose ...

** Champions (1): 1983

References

External links

Official Website
{{Rugby union in France Barbarian F.C. International rugby union teams

Rugby clubs established in 1979 1979 establishments in France