Rugby in France

Rugby in France is one of the most popular sport events and the people of the country has a great passion for it. Located in the Western part of Europe, France is a large and very beautiful country. For its abundance of natural assets like waterbodies, landscapes, wilderness areas and unique geographical location France offers breathtaking scenic beauty to people and that's why it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. Thousands of international and intercontinental tourists come to visit France throughout the year to experience its natural beauty.

Besides, the historic and archaeological sites, the monuments, old buildings, specimens of architectural creation, religious places and different types of adventurous activities like hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, trekking, skiing in the winter, fishing, boating canoeing and kayaking in the beach areas, river rafting and camping and hunting, bird watching and horse back riding in the wilderness areas are also major reasons behind the popularity of France as an international tourist destination. But apart from all these, large number of people gather in different sports venues in France in different times in the year as different types of sport events are held there. Sports activities are an important part of the cultural life of the people of the country. International tournaments for football, the most popular sport in the country, tennis, motor racing and hockey are held quite often but most of the people gather in the stadiums during the events of Rugby in France.

Speaking about Rugby in France it has to be mentioned that rugby is the second most popular sport in the country after football and is played by lot of people, specially in its Southern part. France has got one of the strongest national rugby teams in the world and competes in most of the major international rugby tournaments. France was also the host of the Rugby World Cup 2007 which was won by South Africa beating England 15-6 in the final. The national Rugby team of France is a part of the Rugby Union and is a regular participant of the Six Nations Championship, which is held every year. The other members of the Rugby Union are England, Italy, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Till date, France Rugby team has won the tournament 14 times and have reached the final eight times more. At present, France Rugby team ranks sixth in the world and some of the former French Rugby players have been inducted in International Rugby Hall of Fame. Speaking about Rugby in France it has to be mentioned that this sport was introduced in the country by the British in the year 1872 and the country played its first international test match against New Zealand on the New Year's Day in the year 1906. the match was played in Paris. France joined the British home nation in the year 1910 and formed a five nations tournament which is now popular as the Six Nations Championship.

One of the most important things to mention about Rugby in France is its national jersey. Traditionally, members of the national Rugby team of France wear blue shirts and white socks with red socks, resembling the national flag and are called as les bleus or les tricolores. A golden rooster imposed upon red chest is the emblem of French Rugby team.