Thierry Dusautoir
Birth name | Thierry Dusautoir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 18 November 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 100 kg (220 lb; 15 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Thierry Dusautoir ([tjɛ.ʁi dy.so.twaʁ]; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition.[2] He was called the "Dark Destroyer" during his career.[3] Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed incredibly powerful and effective tackling. He was considered the best tackler in the world during his career.[4]
He first played for
Dusautoir captained France to the 2011 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand. France ended up losing by a score of 7–8. However Dusautoir was named as the Man of the Match for his performance in the final.[6]
Dusautoir was the World Rugby Player of the Year in 2011, the second French player to win the award. He owns the record of most tackles in an international rugby game (38 tackles against New Zealand in 2007).[3] He was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2023. Richie McCaw considered Dusautoir to be one of the toughest opponents he played against.[7]
International career
Dusautoir was called up into the French squad for tests during June 2006 against Romania and the Springboks.
He made his debut for France in a test against Romania on 17 June 2006 at Cotroceni Stadium in Bucharest, Romania, which saw France defeat the Romanians 62–14 and Dusautoir scoring a try on his debut. He played in the subsequent match against the Springboks at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town with France again emerging as the victors. He left Biarritz and signed for Toulouse in 2006.[8]
He is perhaps most famous for his try against
2011 Rugby World Cup
Dusautoir captained France to the
In an interview on Total Rugby in July 2012, Dusautoir spoke about a perceived lack of respect towards his team during the 2011 World Cup.
Our strategy in that match was to resist as long as possible. Having seen the way we were playing throughout the tournament we were aware that we were not at the same level as the All Blacks. That was pretty obvious. But by this time we were sure we were mentally prepared and we were ready to make the most of the opportunity... During the match we played well but we would have liked to have scored a drop goal on top of the great defence we produced. But we played an uncomplicated game and that is ultimately how we managed to surprise them so much.[13]
2012–2015
France's new head coach Philippe Saint-André retained Dusautoir as captain for the 2012 Six Nations Championship, in which France finished fourth.
On 21 October 2012, in a
On 11 January 2013, Dusautoir was named in the initial training squad for the 2013 Six Nations Championship, but Saint-André decided to retain Pascal Papé as captain in order to give Dusautoir time to ease his way back into the international team.[15]
Dusautoir lead France to the knockout rounds of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, where they played against New Zealand in the quarter-finals, losing 62–13. Dusautoir announced his retirement from international rugby following the tournament.
He is the second French captain after Fabien Pelous to have beaten Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
International tries
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result (F–A) | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 June 2006 | Cotroceni Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | Romania | 62–14 |
Test Match |
2 | 16 September 2007 | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse , France |
Namibia | 87–10 |
2007 Rugby World Cup |
3 | 6 October 2007 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | New Zealand | 20–18 |
2007 Rugby World Cup |
4 | 25 February 2009 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France | Wales | 21–16 |
2009 Six Nations Championship |
5 | 21 November 2009 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France | Samoa | 43–5 |
Test Match |
6 | 23 October 2011 | Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand | New Zealand | 7–8 |
2011 Rugby World Cup final |
Honours
Club
Biarritz
- French Champions (2): 2005, 2006
- Heineken Cup runner-up: 2006
Toulouse
- French Champions (3): 2008, 2011, 2012
- Heineken Cup winner: 2010
- Heineken Cup runner-up: 2008
International
- Rugby World Cup runner-up: 2011
- Six Nations champion: 2010
- Grand Slam winner: 2010
Individual
- World Rugby Player of the Year: 2011
Personal life
Dusautoir was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He has a French father and Ivorian mother. He did not take up rugby until he was 16; before that, his favourite sport was judo, which he almost chose as his career, having done it for 13 years and becoming a double brown belt, before switching to rugby.[16][17]
He is a graduate chemical engineer.
References
- International Rugby Board. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ "News, Scores, Results, Features". Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ a b Taccard-Blanchin, Fabien (12 September 2015). "Dusautoir, le "Dark Destroyer" est né le 6 octobre 2007". rugbyrama.fr (in French). Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Thierry Dusautoir". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Biarritz 19-21 Toulouse". BBC. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
- ^ "AWARD FOR DUSAUTOIR". www.eurosport.com. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Legendary All Black Richie McCaw ranks his five toughest opponents". Ruck. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "My Rugby World Cup hero: Thierry Dusautoir". Planet Rugby. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "Thierry Dusautoir leads one of the greatest losing performances in defeat to New Zealand". Daily Telegraph. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Dusautoir crowned IRB player of year". ESPNscrum. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "France's Thierry Dusautoir named player of the year by IRB". Daily Telegraph. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Dusautoir named rugby player of year". CBC Sports. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ a b c "Dusautoir lifts lid on France's World Cup campaign". ESPN Scrum. 18 July 2012.
- ^ "France captain Thierry Dusautoir set to miss autumn Tests". BBC Sport. 21 October 2012.
- ^ "Pape to captain France in Six Nations". ESPN Scrum. 11 January 2013.
- ^ "Dark Destroyer with an arsenal of weapons". The Irish Times. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Guinness, Rupert (20 June 2014). "French captain Thierry Dusautoir: the man who can lead from the brink of despair". amp.smh.com.au. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Thierry Dusautoir: The gatecrasher". The Independent. 13 October 2007. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ "Lessons in leadership for rugby legend Thierry Dusautoir". Financial Times. 6 December 2020. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022.