Frédéric Michalak
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| Frédéric Michalak | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | October 16, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Toulouse, France | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 80 kg (12 st 8 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Fly-half, scrum-half | ||
| Clubs | Caps | (points) | |
| 2000-2007, 2008-present | Toulouse | 147 | (493) |
| Super Rugby | Caps | (points) | |
| 2008 | Sharks | 9 | (5) |
| National team(s) | |||
| 2001-present | France | 50 | (246) |
Frédéric Michalak (born 16 October 1982 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne) is a French rugby union footballer who played for his hometown team, Toulouse, in the Top 14 and in the Heineken Cup, and recently moved to South Africa to play for the Sharks in the Super 14 after the 2007 Rugby World Cup. After just one year with the Natal Sharks and the Sharks he moved backed to Toulouse where he will be making his debut in the 08/09 season. He has also played 50 tests for France so far. He originally played scrum half but has recently played mainly at fly-half. Due to his good looks, Michalak has a lot of female admirers as well as popularity in the gay community as evidenced by a number of fan sites.[1] He has appeared in advertisements for companies such as Nike and Levis.[2]
Michalak made his debut for Toulouse in 1998. He was a member of the team that won the French championship in 2001 and the Heineken Cup in 2003 and 2005. Michalak made his first appearance for France against South Africa on 10 November 2001 and became a regular on the French side. He was selected as a member of the squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia and the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. Michalak was also a part of the Six Nations French Grand Slam winners in 2004 and the champions of 2006.
[edit] Career
Michalak's club Toulouse were crowned the champions of France in 2001 when they defeated Montferrand in the final 34-22. Later that year, in November, Michalak made his international debut for France, coming on as a replacement in a match against South Africa in Paris at the national stadium, Stade de France. France won the match 20-10. He was then promoted to the starting lineup for a test against Australia the following week in Marseille by head coach Bernard Laporte.[3] Michalak played the match at scrum-half and scored his first points for France in the match, landing one penalty goal. France won the match by one point, 14-13. He was used as a replacement in the subsequent match against Fiji at Saint-Étienne, which France also won.
The following year Michalak was back in the starting line-up for France in a Six Nations match against Italy at Stade de France, which France won 33-12, though Michalak did not play in any other of France's Six Nations matches. France eventually went on to win the tournament. Michalak earned further caps for France that year during June. He was an unused bench replacement in a match against Argentina, but was then moved into the starting line-up for subsequent matches against Australia, both of which France lost.
In 2003 he started at scrum-half for France in their Six Nations match against Italy in Rome at Stadio Flaminio. France won the match with Michalak also scoring his first try for the national team. He played in one other Six Nations match that year, starting against Wales in Paris, where he scored another try in the 33-5 victory. Toulouse proceeded to win the 2002-03 Heineken Cup, defeating fellow French team USA Perpignan 22-17 in the final. Michalak was then included in the national squad for the June tests prior to the 2003 World Cup in Australia. He was not used in France's first match against Argentina, but came off the bench in the second of two. He then started in the following match against the All Blacks, where he scored eight points with his kicking in the loss. He earned subsequent caps in matches against Romania, scoring 14 points with his boot, and against England where he scored 12 of France's 17 points in the one point victory.
Michalak was subsequently included in France's squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and made his World Cup debut against Fiji at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane during the pool stages, where he scored 26 points. He scored over 20 points in another match against Japan, including a try. He also scored a try in the subsequent game against Scotland and was rested for the final pool match against the United States. Michalak was superb in France's 43-21 quarter-final win over Ireland in Melbourne, landing all nine goal attempts (four conversions and five penalties) for a personal haul of 23 points.[4] France would go on to face World Cup favourites England in the semi-final. On a rainy night in Sydney, Michalak endured a nightmare game with the boot, scoring only once from five attempts before eventually getting replaced as France, despite scoring first, went on to lose the game 24-7.[5] Despite this, Michalak still finished the tournament as the second-highest points scorer with 101 points. Only Jonny Wilkinson (113) scored more.
The following year, Michalak played in four of France's Six Nations fixtures all in the starting line-up. He was not used in the match against Italy. Toulouse also made it to the final of the 2003-04 Heineken Cup, though they were defeated by the London Wasps. Michalak gained four more caps in November 2004 against Argentina, Australia and the All Blacks. He played in all of France's 2005 Six Nations matches, as well as Toulouse's 2004-05 Heineken Cup victory over Stade Français. He came into the Heineken Cup final under an injury cloud, but showed no signs of it, even sealing the victory for Toulouse in the end with a late drop goal. Toulouse won 18-12 and became the first ever team to win the Cup three times. He was then capped three times in June for France; twice against the Springboks and once against Australia. Michalak was capped another four times in November, against Australia, Canada, Tonga and South Africa. He was named in France's squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Within seconds of coming as a substitute on in the quarter-finals of the tournament, he made a break and then made a pass to Yannick Jauzion who scored a try which when converted gave France a two point lead which they held onto to beat New Zealand, the tournament favourites.
Recently Michalak has signed with The Sharks for the Super 14 in 2008 which has put his Six Nations eligibility status under consideration. The Sharks previously signed Thierry Lacroix and Olivier Roumat in 1996 which helped them win the Currie Cup.
Michalak was due to make his Super 14 debut against Western Force, but withdrew due to a calf strain. He made his debut against the Stormers.[6] The following week he played against the Bulls in a South African derby match where he scored his first try in the Super 14.
Michalak was injured in the first 10 minutes of his 9th game for The Sharks against the Waratahs. It put an early end to Michalaks debut Super 14 season. Michalak has returned to France to have his knee evaluated. He has since signed a three year deal with his former club Toulouse.
Following Felipe Contepomi's decision to sign a four year deal with Top 14 club Toulon, French sporting newspaper l'Equipe have reported that Michalak has become a target for Irish club Leinster who see him as an ideal replacement for their talismanic out-half.
[edit] References
- ^ irish-gay.com - Frédéric Michalak
- ^ "The Divine Frédéric Michalak". beautiful.blogs.com. http://beautiful.blogs.com/beautiful/2005/10/frdric_michalak.html. Retrieved on 8 July 2006.
- ^ "France picks teenager at flyhalf". rugby.com.au. http://www.brumbies.com.au/news/2001_november/france_picks_teenager_at_flyhalf_12609,7873.html. Retrieved on 2 November 2006.
- ^ "France overpowers Ireland". www.abc.net.au. http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/s985434.htm. Retrieved on 18 February 2008.
- ^ "England into World Cup final". www.bbc.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/rugby_world_cup/3263021.stm. Retrieved on 18 February 2008.
- ^ "Michalak fit for Stormers". Planet-Rugby.com. http://www.planet-rugby.com/Story/0,18259,3824_3160836,00.html. Retrieved on 18 February 2008.
[edit] External links
- "Frédéric Michalak". sporting-heroes.net. http://sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=1873. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- "Frédéric Michalak" (in French). lequipe.fr. http://www.lequipe.fr/Rugby/RugbyFicheJoueur3548.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- "Michalak' Unofficial Website" (in French). perso.orange.fr. http://perso.orange.fr/frederic-michalak/. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- "Michalak Frédéric" (in French). itsrugby.fr. http://www.itsrugby.fr/joueur_421.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- "The big interview: Frederic Michalak". timesonline.co.uk. 2004-02-08. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article1015474.ece?token=null&offset=0. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Frédéric Michalak |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | French Rugby union footballer. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 16 October 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Toulouse, France |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
