Thomas Castaignède (born 21 January 1975) is a rugby union footballer from Mont-de-Marsan.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Thomas Castaignède | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 January 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mont-de-Marsan, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 84 kg (13 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Banking | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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, and latterly as fullback. He joined Toulouse to help them win French titles in three successive seasons, and lifted the inaugural European Cup with the club. Castaignède then played for Castres Olympique before joining Saracens.
Developing his career in preparation for his retirement, Castaignède became a rugby union columnist for The Guardian, a television pundit for Canal+[1] and occasionally ITV Sport, and started an association and occasional work with French banking group Société Générale.[2] On 10 May 2007, despite offers to return to France with various clubs, Castaignède announced his retirement from the sport after the 2007 Rugby World Cup in September, choosing to pursue a career in banking in London.[3]
References
edit- ^ "Planete Tele". Archived from the original on 29 July 2007.
- ^ "Thomas Castaignède, joueur du XV de France, rejoint Société Générale Corporate & Investment banking, 30 janvier 2006,". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ Castaignède calls time on career BBC Sport - 10 May 2007