From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fabien Pelous (born December 7, 1973) is a
retired French rugby union footballer.
A lock, he played almost all of his
professional career for Stade Toulousain, and is the all-time
leader in appearances for the French national
team.
The son of a family of local farmers, Pelous was born in Toulouse and was introduced
to rugby in Saverdun. He
made his test début on October 17, 1995 against Romania.
Pelous proved himself an inspirational captain for France since
succeeding Fabien Galthié ahead of the 2004 RBS 6
Nations. Enjoyed immediate success after leading Les
Bleus to the Grand Slam in his first year
and followed that up with a second-placed finish in 2005.
Pelous also helped Toulouse win the European Cup in 2005 before missing the
summer test matches with a serious knee injury. He returned to
action in September and was back to help France to a 26-16 win over
Australia in
November. However, Pelous was handed a nine-week ban in the
aftermath of that victory after being found guilty of elbowing
Australia hooker Brendan Cannon.
He was slated to equal Philippe Sella's record of 111 caps for
France in the opener of the 2007 Six Nations against
Italy, but was ruled
out of the side due to an ankle injury. After he missed their
second Six Nations tie against Ireland, he was ruled
out of the entire Six Nations.[1] After
his injury troubles continued,[2] hooker
Raphaël
Ibañez, who had filled in for him as captain during the 2007
Six Nations, was named as France captain for the 2007
Rugby World Cup, with Pelous as unofficial vice-captain.[3] He
finally earned his record-equalling 111th cap on 11 August 2007 at
Twickenham against England,[4] and
took the record by himself on August 18 in Les Bleus'
return match against England at Marseille.[5]
He ended his international career after the 2007 Rugby World Cup
with 118 caps, 42 of them as France captain. The night after the
2007 Rugby World Cup final, he was recognized at the IRB Awards, receiving the
International Rugby Players' Association Special Merit Award.[6]
In his spare time, Pelous is involved in a winemaking venture
that he started in 2002 with France football
international Djibril Cissé.[7]
In April 2009, it was announced that Pelous would retire at the
end of the 2008/09 season. During his last season at Toulouse, he
took up a part-time role as an assistant coach of France A.[8]
Trivia
See also
Notes and
references
External
links
Wikis
Map
Search
