Maxime Médard

Maxime Médard
Date of birth (1986-11-16) 16 November 1986
Place of birth Toulouse, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 89 kg (14 st 0 lb)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Fullback, Wing
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
1995–2000
2000–2004
Blagnac
Stade Toulousain
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2004– Stade Toulousain 227 (400)
correct as of 9 May 2015.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2008– France 46 (63)
correct as of 19 March 2016.

Maxime Médard (born 16 November 1986 in Toulouse) is a French rugby union player who plays his club rugby for French club Stade Toulousain in Top 14 and France internationally. He can play as both a fullback and on the wing and is described by assistant national team coach Émile Ntamack as an "incredible talent" that, during the 2010–11 season, was finally "realizing his potential".[1] Medard is a two-time winner of the Heineken Cup and, in 2008, won the Top 14 for the first time. Also referred to as 'The French Wolverine.'

Career

Club

Médard began his rugby union career playing for local club Blagnac as a youth. His father, Alain, had previously played for the club in the 1980s alongside his uncle Francis. In 2000, he joined Stade Toulousain and spent four years developing. Médard achieved numerous honours as a youth winning the Gaudermen Challenge in three straight years from 2001–2003. In 2004, he made his debut with the senior team and, in the following year, turned professional. In his first year as a professional, Médard was a member of the Toulousain team that won the 2004–05 Heineken Cup. Toulouse defeated league rivals Stade Français 18–12 in the final match. Médard burst onto the scene domestically in the 2007–08 season primarily due to injuries to Vincent Clerc and Clément Poitrenaud. He featured regularly in the team that won the Top 14 that season. For his efforts, he was declared the Revelation of the Year by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). On 5 September 2010, Médard scored the fastest try in league history since 2005 after scoring after 18 seconds against La Rochelle.

International

Prior to playing for the senior team, Médard was a regular international at youth level. In 2005, he was a member of the under-21 team that played at the 2005 Under 21 Rugby World Championship in Argentina. In the ensuing season, Médard won the 2006 edition of the competition that was played on home soil. He earned his first senior cap France in November 2008 during a test series match against Argentina. He appeared in subsequent test matches against the Pacific Islanders and the All Blacks. Médard's positive play within the team resulted in the player earning selection to the team that participated in the 2009 Six Nations Championship. In June 2009, Médard scored the late try that sealed France's first victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand since 1994.[2]

International Tries

# Date Venue Opponent Result (France-...) Competition
1. 15 November 2008 Stade Bonal, Sochaux, France Pacific Islanders
42–17
Test Match
2. 7 February 2009 Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland  Ireland
21–30
Six Nations Championship
3. 21 March 2009 Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy  Italy
50–8
Six Nations Championship
4. 21 March 2009 Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy  Italy
50–8
Six Nations Championship
5. 13 June 2009 Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand  New Zealand
27–22
Test Match
6. 13 November 2010 Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France  Fiji
34–12
Test Match
7. 5 February 2011 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France  Scotland
34–21
Six Nations Championship
8. 13 February 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland  Ireland
25–22
Six Nations Championship
9. 8 October 2011 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand  England
19–12
2011 Rugby World Cup

Honours

Club

France Stade Toulousain

International

France France

References

  1. Averis, Mike (11 February 2011). "Six Nations 2011: France's Maxime Médard comes in from the cold". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  2. Miller, Herman (13 June 2009). "Maxime Médard breakaway try earns France historic win over All Blacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2009.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.