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Sébastien Chabal

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Sébastien Chabal (born 8 December 1977) is a French former rugby union player. He played number eight and lock for Bourgoin (1998–2004), Sale Sharks (2004–2009), Racing Métro 92 Paris (2009 – February 2012), and for the French national team.

Sébastien Chabal
Date of birth (1977-12-08) 8 December 1977 (age 46)
Place of birthValence, France
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight113 kg (249 lb; 17 st 11 lb)[1]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Number eight, Lock, Flanker
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2000–2004
2004–2009
2009–2012
2012–2014		 Bourgoin
Sale Sharks
Racing Métro
Lyon		 45
101
57
18		 (35)
(60)
(30)
(15)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2000–2011 France 62 (30)

Chabal played professionally for 16 years and won the English Premiership with Sale, and the 2007 Six Nations Championship with France. He also finished in fourth place at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He earned his first international cap on 4 March 2000 against Scotland, and represented France in 62 games.

He is known for his full beard, long hair and ferocious tackling, leading the French rugby fans to nickname him l'Homme des Cavernes (Caveman). With this look, he has a number of lucrative commercial contracts. He was one of the most popular sportsmen in France,[2] so much that local journalists wrote about Chabalmania.

Personal life

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Born on 8 December 1977 in Valence, Drôme, Chabal grew up in Beaumont-lès-Valence in the Drôme department in southeast France. His modest family was originally from Ardèche.[3] His father worked in a garage and his mother worked in a jewellery store.[4] Passionate about mechanical works, he attended a Lycée professionnel where he studied for and obtained a brevet d'études professionnelles in mechanics.[4] He then worked as a milling machine operator in a Salmson factory in Crest.[5] While working in Crest, he played rugby for the amateur club in Beauvallon.[5] When he joined Valence Sportif, he left his factory job and became a professional rugby union player.

While playing for Bourgoin-Jallieu, he married Annick[6] and became stepfather to her daughter who was born in 1994.[4][7] In 2005, he welcomed the birth of his daughter Lily-Rose.[4][7]

Chabal is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Monaco-based international organization Peace and Sport.

Playing career

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Early years

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Chabal first tried rugby at the age of nine, but gave it up after just two months.[4] However, he again tried his hand at rugby when he was sixteen, by following two friends who played for the local club in Beauvallon.[5][8] This time, he discovered a passion for the game, and the camaraderie that follows matches.

He quickly made his way up, through the French league system. First with Valence Sportif who played in the Fédérale 2, the fourth division of French rugby, and then with CS Bourgoin-Jallieu in 1998 who played in the top flight. Here, he played as a flanker as his preferred position of number eight was taken by Pierre Raschi. With Bourgoin-Jallieu, Chabal played at the highest level of French domestic rugby, European club rugby and from here gained his first international cap for France. Moreover, at Bourgoin-Jallieu he played with the golden generation of players from the club's youth system such as Lionel Nallet, Julien Bonnaire, Olivier Milloud, Pascal Papé, and Benjamin Boyet. However, he did not win any trophies during this time although he played in the semi-final of the French Championship during the 2003–2004 season. He also played on the losing side in the 1998–99 European Challenge Cup final, the final of the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1999, the final of the League Cup in 2003 and the final of the Challenge Sud-Radio in 2003.

On 11 October 2002, during the group stages of the 2002–2003 Heineken Cup, Bourgoin, with Chabal, defeated Sale Sharks 18–24 at Edgeley Park, the home of Sale Sharks. During this match, Jason Robinson received a yellow card for the first time in his career following a tackle from Chabal.[9][10] In the return match, Bourgoin again defeated Sale, but finished second in their group to Biarritz Olympique as they had scored fewer tries.[11]

During the 2003–2004 Heineken Cup, Chabal and Bourgoin played against Munster and Gloucester in the group stage. On 6 December 2003, Bourgoin lost their first match at home against the Irish province 17–18. Chabal scored the only try of the encounter, but Ronan O'Gara scored six penalty kicks.[12] One week later, Bourgoin suffered a heavy defeat away at the hands of Gloucester 49–13, with Chabal again scoring the only try for his team.[13] Bourgoin lost against Gloucester at home, and lost five of six matches during their 2003–2004 European campaign, finishing third in their pool and were eliminated from the competition.[14] On 25 January 2004, the head coach of Bourgoin, Philippe Saint-André, was sacked after he applied for the position of head coach of the Welsh national team, left vacant following the departure of Steve Hansen.[15] The ambitious plan for Bourgoin initiated by Laurent Seigne under the direction of Pierre Martinet and Patrick Sébastien had ended.[16]

English experience

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Sebastien Chabal on for Racing Metro 92, 2009.

Following the departure of Saint-André, and after six years wearing the blue jersey of Bourgoin, Chabal wanted to change his horizons and continue his professional development as a player at another club. He wished to join Stade Toulousain, but the club of the Ville Rose made no offer for his services.[17] However, Saint-André, now sporting director at Sale Sharks, signed him on a two-year contract with the Manchester outfit.[18][19] Although Chabal had played at flanker throughout his time at Bourgoin, Saint-André selected him at number eight in his first match for Sale.

The 2004–2005 English Premiership marked the return of Sale Sharks to the country's top flight under the guidance of Saint-André. In their first two matches of the season, Sale, with Chabal, won against both Leicester Tigers[20] and London Wasps,[21] the favourites for the title that year.[22] The English club won the 2004–05 European Challenge Cup beating Pau 27–3 in the final. This was the first title won by Chabal. The Sharks lost their 2004–05 domestic league semi-final 43–22 against the eventual victors London Wasps, despite a try from Chabal,[23] but finished the season in third place, securing their place in the 2005–06 Heineken Cup. By the end of the season, Chabal had made the position of Sharks No. 8 his own.

Chabal's second season with the English outfit brought more success. First, Sale reached the quarter-finals of the 2005–2006 Heineken Cup losing to Biarritz Olympique. Earlier in the group stages, Chabal was the victim of a gang tackle by Paul O'Connell and Anthony Foley during Sale's group-deciding match against Munster at Thomond Park. Chabal had only just caught a Ronan O'Gara restart when he was hit hard and driven back into his teams 22. The tackle was to turn the match in Munster's favour and established something of a stigma for Chabal against the Irish province (as he would be hit hard a number times by Munster centre Lifeimi Mafi in a match during the 2008–2009 season again with a crowd-pleasing outcome). Nevertheless, back in the English league, Sale won the 2005–06 Guinness Premiership by beating London Wasps 22–12 in the semi-final[24] before defeating Leicester Tigers 45–20 in the final.[25][26] With his two-year contract now up, Chabal turned down an offer to join Stade Toulousain and extended his contract with the Sharks for a further year.[17]

The 2006–2007 season was not as successful as 2005–2006. Sale finished sixth in the Guinness Premiership and were eliminated in the group stages of the Heineken Cup. However, during the group stages of the Heineken Cup, Sale played against Stade Français and during the match in Paris, Chabal scored an interception try from Agustín Pichot, running 50 metres to the line.[27] Following this performance, Chabal was selected for the French national side for the 2007 Six Nations Championship.

The 2007–2008 season was met with more success than the 2006–07, with victories against some of the best teams in the domestic championship, but a home defeat to London Irish on the last day of the regular season confined Sale to finishing the season in fifth place. However, this guaranteed them a place in the 2008–09 Heineken Cup having played in the 2007–08 European Challenge Cup. During the quarter-final of the European Challenge Cup against CA Brive, Chabal scored the first of six tries for the English side, but injured his knee.[28] This injury forced him out of action for one month, during which Sale lost 36–14 to Bath Rugby in the semi-finals. In December 2007, Chabal extended his contract with Sale for a further two years.[29]

For the 2008–2009 season, Saint-André started playing Chabal in the second row instead of his more usual position of No. 8 or flanker. During the group stages of the Heineken Cup, Sale were grouped with Munster and Clermont, losing against both and depriving Sale and Chabal from the final phases of the competition.[30][31] In the domestic competition, Sale were on course for a place in the playoffs, but not for a European competition place. However, in the penultimate game of the regular season, Chabal scored an important try that gave Sale an important bonus point and a place in the European competition.[32][33] Despite this, during the last day of the regular season, although Sale won their match, results elsewhere led to Sale missing out on the play-offs and terminating the season for Chabal.[34]

Philippe Saint-André had announced in December 2008 that he was to leave Sale Sharks at the end of the 2008–09 season with Kingsley Jones named as his successor.[35][36] Chabal had already announced that he wished to return to play in France, his family had already left England in September 2008.[37]

Return to France

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After five years at Sale, Chabal officially signed a three-year contract with the French club Racing Métro 92 in April 2009.[38] The French club were recently promoted to the Top 14 in 2009 after winning the 2008–2009 Pro D2 with three rounds to spare. They also signed Lionel Nallet and the South African's François Steyn and Jacques Cronjé. Racing enjoyed success in their return to the top flight, claiming the sixth and final slot in the newly expanded Top 14 playoffs, where they narrowly lost in the first round at eventual champions Clermont. Racing's sixth-place finish also gave them a berth in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup. In September 2010, it was reported that Chabal was the highest-paid rugby player in the world, earning a reported €1 million per year.[39]

Shane Richardson, Chief Executive of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, an Australian rugby league club revealed the club had contacted Chabal's management to inquire about the possibility to switch codes, where he would play "a portion of his season with the club."[40] The club were unsuccessful in their attempts to pursue Chabal.

During the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 seasons Chabal played for Lyon. He finished his playing career on a high in May 2014 by helping Lyon being promoted to the top division.[41]

International career

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Although Chabal is primarily a back-row player, former France coach Bernard Laporte frequently used him as a lock. In a 2007 interview, Chabal said that Laporte called him just before the France squad was announced for the 2007 Rugby World Cup and told him, "I really want to pick you but to play second row." Chabal accepted Laporte's offer.[42]

At France's loss to England in the semi-final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Chabal was visibly distraught, as they failed to make it to the final.

Chabal was not included in Les Bleus squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship. He expressed a desire to continue to represent his country, and believed that omission from the June tour to Australia would indicate that he was out of reckoning for France's 2011 World Cup preparations. On 9 June 2008 he was recalled to the France squad for their Australian tour. He was selected in the French squad for the 2008 Autumn internationals. He was called once again for the 2009 Six Nations Championship.

In May 2011 Chabal was left out of France's provisional 32-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.[43]

Other appearances

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In February 2012, Chabal made an appearance with Balmain Rugby Union from Sydney for one game against Petersham Rugby Club at ANZ Stadium. The game featured as a curtain raiser to the Round 1 Super Rugby game between the NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds. Chabal's appearance created a media hype in both Australia and France. In the game, Chabal scored the last try for Balmain, winning 19–5.[44]

In January 2014, Chabal appeared in an advertising campaign for an online currency exchange company CurrencyFair as the "Currency Fairy".[45]

He is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club,[46] a group of more than 90 famous elite created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H Prince Albert II. This group of top-level champions, wishes to make sport a tool for dialogue and social cohesion.

References

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  1. ^ "FrenchRugbyClub Racing-Métro 92 squad". FrenchRugbyClub.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  2. ^ Rodolphe Rolland (21 November 2008). "Chabal ou mi-Chabal ?". Le Monde (in French). France: nicerugby.blog.lemonde.fr. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  3. ^ "Rugby : Sébastien Chabal, un Poilu chez les épilés". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). France. Associated Press. 4 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e Stéphanie Platat (30 July 2007). "Dur au cuir". Libération (in French). France. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  5. ^ a b c Gérard Muteaud (30 August 2007). "Chabal, sérial plaqueur". Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). France. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  6. ^ "Image de la femme de Sébastien Chabal". Skyrock (in French). October 2007. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  7. ^ a b Ronan Folgoas (12 March 2009). "Chabal pense à Toulon". Sportweek (in French). sportweek.fr. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  8. ^ Éric Gourdoux (31 January 2009). "Portrait : Rencontrer – Sébastien Chabal intime". coolture.fr (in French). Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  9. ^ Gérald Mathieu (12 October 2007). "Chabal, l'homme qui fait trembler toute l'Angleterre". Sportweek (in French). sportweek.fr. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  10. ^ "Sharks bitten by Bourgoin". BBC. 11 October 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  11. ^ "Bourgoin cut down Sale". BBC. 18 January 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  12. ^ "O'Gara sinks Bourgoin". BBC. 6 December 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  13. ^ "Injury mars Gloucester win". BBC. 13 December 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  14. ^ "Bourgoin 18–37 Gloucester". BBC. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  15. ^ "Saint-Andre sacked over Wales job". BBC. 25 January 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  16. ^ Arnaud Tillous (August 2002). "Philippe Saint-André : " Plus de pression en France "". L'Équipe (in French). France. Archived from the original on 25 November 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  17. ^ a b "Sébastien Chabal: Sea Bass swims with the Sharks". The independent. UK. 7 January 2006. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  18. ^ "Double signing for Sharks". BBC. 22 April 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  19. ^ "Chabal et Todd à Sale". L'Équipe. France. 23 April 2004. Retrieved 6 April 2009.[dead link‍]
  20. ^ Mike Averis (6 September 2004). "Leicester left for dead by Chabal Sale 26–19 Leicester". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  21. ^ Castaignède, Thomas (13 September 2004). "Sale boom with Saint-André and Chabal the cartonneur". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  22. ^ These two clubs finished first and second that at the end of the regular season and met in the final where Wasps beat Leicester 34–19 to win the title.
  23. ^ Jamie Jackson (8 May 2005). "Wasps on course for third". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  24. ^ Robert Kitson (15 May 2006). "Robinson's slice of magic helps Sale end Wasps' reign Sale 22–12 Wasps". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  25. ^ Michael Aylwin (28 May 2006). "Hodgson gets real kick out of grinding Tigers into the dirt Sale 45–20 Leicester". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  26. ^ Robert Kitson (29 May 2006). "Sale driven to new heights by saviour Saint-André Sale 45–20 Leicester". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  27. ^ Pierrick Taisne (10 December 2006). "Heineken Cup – Stade Français – Sale : 27–16 – Paris s'est fait peur". rugby365.fr. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  28. ^ "Rugby – Ch.Européen – Sale-Brive : 49–24". L'Équipe. France. 4 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  29. ^ "The quiet life keeps Seabass at Sale". BBC. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  30. ^ "Sale 16–24 Munster". BBC. 19 October 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  31. ^ "Munster 37–14 Sale". BBC. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  32. ^ "Premiership: Chabal offre l'Europe à Sale". orange.fr (in French). 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  33. ^ "Sale down Quins' colours". guinnesspremiership.com. 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  34. ^ Andy Wilson (25 April 2009). "Mathew Tait earns Sale's bonus point but results elsewhere mean Sharks miss out on the play-offs". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
  35. ^ "Philippe Saint-André quittera Sale en fin de saison". sportweek.fr (in French). Sportweek. 4 December 2008. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  36. ^ Duncan Bech (25 February 2009). "Jason Robinson takes charge at Sale". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  37. ^ "Rugby – XV de France – Chabal : " Je vais rentrer "". L'Équipe. France. 24 November 2008. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  38. ^ "Rugby-Racing-Metro – Nallet et Chabal ont signé". L'Équipe. France. Agence France-Presse. 29 April 2009. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  39. ^ "French resistance to Dan Carter's high price". L'Équipe. France. L'EQUIPE. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  40. ^ "Souths boss tried to lure hulking French Caveman into Rabbits' warren". 15 July 2008. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  41. ^ The Guardian article: Chabal retirement
  42. ^ "Chabal backs France for home glory". RugbyRugby.com. 28 August 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
  43. ^ "France's Sebastien Chabal omitted from World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  44. ^ http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/super-rugby/the-caveman-sebastien-chabal-up-for-grabs-after-confirming-move-to-australia-to-play-super-rugby/story-e6frf4qu-1226271200264 Retrieved 27 February 2012 Fox Sports Australia Rugby
  45. ^ "Sebastian Chabal Stars in Bizarre Advert as 'The Currency Fairy'". Bleacher Report.
  46. ^ "Meet Our Champions for Peace". Retrieved 23 December 2019.
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