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The
France national rugby union team represents
France in the
rugby union. They compete annually against
England,
Ireland,
Italy,
Scotland and
Wales in the
Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine
grand slams. Eight former French players have been inducted into either the
International Rugby Hall of Fame or the
IRB Hall of Fame—two to the International Hall only, two to the IRB Hall only, and four to both Halls of Fame.
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
Home Nations until they joined them to form a Five Nations tournament (now the Six Nations Championship) in 1910. France also competed in the rugby competitions at early
Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in 1900 and two silver medals in the 1920s. France came of age during the 1950s and 1960s, and won their first Five Nations title outright in 1959. They won their first
Grand Slam in 1968. Since the
inaugural World Cup in 1987, France have qualified for the knock-out stage of every tournament. They have reached the final twice, losing to the All Blacks in 1987 and to
Australia in
1999. France hosted the
2007 Rugby World Cup, where, as in
2003, they were beaten in the semi finals by
England.
France...
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