Team Guide: France
Background information
France has participated in all seven World Cups.
They have hosted the World Cup twice.
France and Scotland played out to the first World Cup draw.
France had seven different captains and six different coaches at World Cups.
Bernard Laporte coached the French at two consective World Cups- with Raphaël Ibañez captaining at two World Cups.
The French lost all three finals they appeared in.
Daniel Dubroca, Diego Ormaechea and Martin Johnson are the only three players to captain and coach a country at a World Cup.
1987
France participated in their first World Cup.
There was no qualification process due to France being an International Rugby Football Board member.
Jacques Fouroux coached the side-with Daniel Dubroca being captain.
France came second after New Zealand won 29-9, in the final.
The French collected 215 points- with only 113 conceded in the competition.
France biggest winning margin was 58 points when they toppled Zimbabwe 70-12 in the pool stages.
France had scored 34 tries in the tournament.
1991
The second edition of the World Cup was jointly hosted by France, Wales, England Scotland and Ireland.
Daniel Dubroca coached the side-with Serge Blanco being captain.
France lost 19-10 to England in the quarterfinals.
The French collected 92 points- with only 44 conceded in the competition.
France biggest winning margin was 27 points when they toppled Romania 30-3 in the pool stages.
Jean-Baptiste Lafond and David Campese shared the record, for the most tries in the tournament which was six.
1995
France participated in their third World Cup.
They received automatic qualification due to them being in the quaterfinals of the previous World Cup.
Pierre Berbizier coached the side-with Saint-André being captain.
The French came third after South Africa won 19-15, in the semifinals.
Thierry Lacroix 112 points were the most in the tournament.
The French collected 184 points- with only 87 conceded in the competition.
France biggest winning margin was 36 points when they won Ivory Coast 54-18 in the pool stages.
1999
France participated in their fourth World Cup.
They received automatic qualification due to them ending third in the previousn World Cup.
Jean-Claude Skrela coached the side-with Raphaël Ibañez being captain.
France came second after Australia won 35-12, in the final.
The French collected 210 points- with only 144 conceded in the competition.
France biggest winning margin was 34 points, when they won Namibia 47-13, in the pool stages.
The French scored 22 tries.
2003
France participated in their fourth World Cup.
They received automatic qualification due to them ending second in the previousn World Cup.
Bernard Laporte coached the side-with Fabien Galthié being captain.
France came fourth after New Zealand won 40-13, in the third-place play off.
The French collected 267 points- with only 155 conceded in the competition.
France biggest winning margin was 43 points when they won Fiji 61-18 in the pool stages.
Frédéric Michalak contributed 101 points out of their 267 points.
2007
France hosted the World Cup for a second time.
Bernard Laporte coached the side-with Raphaël Ibañez being captain.
France came fourth after Argentina won 34-10, in the third-place play off.
The French collected 227 points- with only 103 conceded in the competition.
France biggest winning margin was 77 points when they won Namibia 87-10 in the pool stages.
France scored 27 tries in the tournament.
2011
France participated in their seventh World Cup.
They received automatic qualification due to them ending fourth in the previous World Cup.
Marc Lièvremont coached the side-with Thierry Dusautoir being captain.
France came second after New Zealand won 8-7, in the final.
The French collected 159 points- with only 124 conceded in the competition.
France biggest winning margin was 27 points when they toppled Canada 46-19 in the pool stages.
France scored 16 tries in the tournament.
Vincent Clerc and Chris Ashton shared the record for the most tries in the tournament, which were six.
