Gérald Merceron (born 25 February 1973) is a French former rugby union player He played at

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

. Unusually he favoured a cone when kicking at goal; the only other player in the modern game to do the same is Chris Ellis. He played for

RC Toulon Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon and competing in the Top 14. Located on the French Riviera, in the Provence region, the club plays its h ...

ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two t ...

and

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

, where he retired at the end of the 2007/08 season. He had 32 caps for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, from 1999 to 2003. He made his test debut on 3 June 1999 as a replacement against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, in a game won by 65–8, aged 26 years old. Merceron amassed an impressive 267 test points during his 32 appearances for the French side during 4 years, slotting 57 penalties, 36 conversions and 3 drop goals as well as scoring 3 tries. He was the highest scorer in the French Grand Slam of the 2002

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

with 80 points. His final appearance in a French jersey was in the third/fourth place play-off match against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

during the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, in a game lost by 40–13.Gérald Merceron International Statistics
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References

1973 births French rugby union players ASM Clermont Auvergne players RC Toulon players Living people Rugby union fly-halves France international rugby union players Stade Rochelais players People from Cognac, France Sportspeople from Charente Rugby union players from Nouvelle-Aquitaine 2003 Rugby World Cup players US Cognac players {{France-rugbyunion-bio-1970s-stub