Portal:Rugby union/Selected article/September

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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 completing eight grand slams.

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. France played sporadically against the British Home Nations until they joined them to form a Five Nations tournament (today, the Six Nations Championship) in 1910. France came of age during the 1950s and 1960s, winning their first of many Five Nations titles. 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 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 2007 Rugby World Cup. (More...)