Vincent Clerc
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| Date of birth | May 7, 1981 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Échirolles | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Wing | ||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1998–2002 2002– |
FC Grenoble Stade Toulousain |
227 |
(490) |
| correct as of March 5, 2011. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2002– | France | 57 | (155) |
| correct as of 21 November 2011. | |||
Vincent Clerc (born May 7, 1981) is a French rugby union player who plays on the wing.
[edit] Biography
Born in the city of Échirolles, suburb of the south of Grenoble (Isère), Clerc first played rugby at FC Grenoble, helping them reach the Top 16 before moving to Toulouse in 2002, where he has been playing ever since. He earned his first cap for France on November 9, 2002 against South Africa, and was selected as a member of the 2007 Rugby World Cup squad. He scored 5 tries during the first two games of the 2008 Six Nations Championship against Scotland and Ireland. In a post-match interview after the match against Ireland Clerc stated to the French TV channel France 2 that he "never would have been able to score a hat-trick if Shane Horgan had been playing." Horgan and Clerc have had a long rivalry and, unfortunately for Ireland, Horgan was unfit to play. In the 2007 RBS 6 Nations tournament Vincent scored a last gasp try against Ireland. In the last game of that series of games Vincent Clerc helped France to trounce Scotland to give them the title.
During the 2008 6 Nations, media attention focused on the final match of the tournament, where Clerc and Shane Williams would play as opposite numbers. Both had scored five tries so far in the tournament, but ultimately the match, dubbed as the "Big battle of the little people" was won by Wales, with Williams scoring one final try in the competition.
Clerc ruputured the ligaments in his left knee while playing for Stade Toulousain against ASM Clermont Auvergne in April 2008. He made his club comeback in December 2008, against Mont-de-Marsan, and was recalled to the national squad for the summer 2009 tests.
Clerc is involved with the Toulouse based charity Maison des Parents, which works alongside parents and their children, who suffer from illnesses and are being treated in Toulouse.
In 2010, he was selected in the French Barbarians squad to play Tonga on November 26.
Clerc has scored 31 tries for France with 55 caps. He has scored 6 tries at the Rugby World Cup 2011, the joint highest amount, along with Chris Ashton.
[edit] Honours
[edit] External links
- (French) Official Website
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