Rugby Union in France - National Side

National Side

Main article: France national rugby union team

France, nicknamed Les Bleus (The Blues), is a top tier nation, as cited by the International Rugby Board. France competes in the Six Nations Championship annually. Although France have never won the World Cup, they have in fact appeared in the 1987, 1999 and 2011 finals — losing twice to New Zealand (in 1987 and 2011), and once to Australia (in 1999). In addition to being runners-up on three occasions, France has always appeared in the semi-finals – with the exception of the 1991 Rugby World Cup where they were knocked out in the quarter finals. The French style of play is renowned for its paradoxical combination of rugged physicality and inspired grace. This particular style of play has been nicknamed the "French flair".

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