Dusautoir quits international rugby
Flanker led national side a record 56 times
PARIS: France captain Thierry Dusautoir has announced his retirement from international rugby, bringing to an end a Test career which saw him captain his country a record 56 times in 80 appearances and where he distinguished himself as one of the best tacklers in the modern game.
Dusautoir, one of world rugby’s best flankers over the past decade, led France against the odds to the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, scoring a try against New Zealand in an 8-7 defeat.
In October, his final appearance ended with an unwanted record, crushed 62-13 by New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-finals: the biggest ever defeat in the knockout stages, and most points any France side have conceded.
That loss left him devastated, and he said last month that he was undecided about his international future.
After meeting new coach Guy Noves on Friday morning, Dusautoir made his decision to walk away before the start of next year’s Six Nations Championship, which begins in February.
“We reached the same conclusions. That’s why I’m certain my choice is based on reason... if I’d tried to carry on playing, forced things, it would have been more proof of vanity than anything else,” the 34-year-old Dusautoir said in an interview published in yesterday’s edition of sports daily L’Equipe.
“Actually, I think it’s the wisest choice. My character has always been to give my all for France and for my club before thinking about myself,” Dusautoir added. “Even if I’m proud and ambitious, I think I’m also someone honest and [to continue] would not have corresponded to the person I am and the way I’ve conducted my career.”
Dusautoir scored the first of his six international tries on his Test debut against Romania in 2006, and fast earned a reputation for his incredibly tough, relentless and fearless tackling.
In the 2007 World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand, which France won 20-18 in a stirring second-half comeback, he set a World Cup record with an astonishing 38 tackles in that match — a record which still stands.
Four years later, his impressive performances in the 2011 World Cup — when he even out-performed famed All Blacks flanker Richie McCaw in the final — saw him named the best player in the world that year.
France’s run to the 2011 final was in large part thanks to Dusautoir, who became the team’s undisputed talisman amid a massive fallout between senior players and beleaguered coach Marc Lievremont.
In the final, a stunned Auckland crowd looked on as France threw down the gauntlet to the New Zealand on their home soil in the most audacious and totally unexpected way.
Led by the inspirational Dusautoir, the players linked arms to form a spear shape and then marched with intent towards the All Blacks as they performed their traditional pre-match Haka. It was a brilliantly daring move and rocked the composure of the All Blacks, who were left clinging on at the end as they scraped to victory.
He also captained France to an impressive 27-22 win over New Zealand in Dunedin in June, 2009 and the following year starred as France won the Six Nations Grand Slam for the ninth time.
Dusautoir will continue to play for Toulouse, where he was Noves’ longserving club captain before Noves quit to take the France job, replacing the unpopular Philippe Saint-Andre.
McCaw led the All Blacks to World Cup victory last month and recently announced his retirement from rugby, meaning that the curtain has come down on the careers of two of rugby’s finest flankers.
That Dusautoir was so respected and admired by McCaw and his teammates is the biggest possible accolade Dusautoir could receive.