Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 16, 2007

The France national rugby union team is a national sporting side that represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright on fourteen occasions, shared in another eight titles and completed eight grand slams. They are currently the fifth ranked team in the world, behind New Zealand ("The All Blacks"), Australia, South Africa and Argentina. Six former French players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame. Rugby was introduced to France in 1872 by the British, and on New Year's Day, 1906, the national side played its first Test match against New Zealand in Paris. They won their first Grand Slam in 1968, and won numerous titles in the following years. Since the inaugural World Cup in 1987, France have qualified for the knock-out stage of every tournament and have reached the final twice. They were runners-up to the All Blacks in 1987 and to Australia in 1999. France are the host nation for the current 2007 Rugby World Cup. France traditionally play in white-trimmed blue shirts with blue shorts and red socks, and are commonly referred to as les tricolores or les bleus. (more...)

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