Abdelatif Benazzi

Abdelatif Benazzi is a former player French of Rugby to XV, born the August 20th 1968 with Oujda (Morocco). He played in team of France and evolved/moved at the station of second line or third line centers (1,96 m for 111 kg).

Biography

After having started with the Football, where it was Goalkeeper, then the Athlétisme with the Oujda Sporting union as a launcher of weight and disc, it turns to the Rugby to XV and quickly becomes international junior then senior. It joined in 1988 the club of Cahors. One season later, it signs with the KNOWN Agen, one of the best French clubs, and plays sides of its idol, Philippe Sella. A selection with the team of Morocco against the team of Belgium in 1990 failed to prevent it from playing in team of France, where it is selected by Jacques Fouroux. It takes part in the World cup 1991, and that of 1995 where it fails of fifteen centimetres to mark the test of the victory in semi-final against the team of South Africa. It gains then the Grand Slam in the Five Nations tournament 1997, as a captain. It is then one of the heroes of the semi-final of the World cup 1999 against the team of New Zealand to the Stade of Twickenham.

President of Association Noor, it leads an action to the Morocco aiming to the insertion of the children by the practice of the sport, in particular by the oval balloon. Some 1.000 young French and Morrocans profited from meetings of initiation given by stars of the national sport and international such as the Olympic champion Nawal El Moutawakil, Aziz Bougja, president of the African Confédération of Rugby, Pascal Gentil, triple world champion, Stephan Mifsud, world champion of diving and the famous rugbymen Laurent Benezech, Laurent Cabannes, Olivier Merle and Olivier Roumat. It also acts, according to the international Morrocan, to develop the other sports activities. “But if we currently focus ourselves on Rugby, it is because it is thought that Morocco has all the chances to qualify itself with the World cup, which will be organized in France in 2007”, he adds.

Of all international the French rugbymen, it has the characteristic to be only the selected international one in two distinct countries, Morocco and France.

It has Co-writing in 2005 with the sports correspondent Richard Escot the work Benazzi, a life with the test , ED. Flammarion, prefaced by Nelson Mandela. Michel Gardère devoted one entitled book Abdelatif Benazzi to him - the man with the three fatherlands: France, Morocco, Rugby , ED. The Roundtable, 1995. In 2007, it publishes " XV lessons for coacher your team and to succeed in your entreprise" , with the Maximum editions.

He was member of the High council to integration.

Prize list

In club

Finalist of the championship of France: 1990

In national team

68 selections in team of France between 1990 and 2001
9 tests (45 points)
Tournaments of the five/six disputed nations: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001
Large slam: 1997, as a Victorious captain
of the Five Nations tournament: 1993 Victorious
of the Latin cut: 1997
2 selections in team of Morocco

In world cup , with the team of France:

1999 : vice-champion of the world, 6 selections (Canada, Namibia, Fiji, Argentinian, New Zealand, Australia)
1995: 6 selections (Tonga, Ivory Coast, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, England), 1 test
1991: 3 selections (Romania, Fiji, Canada)

External bonds

Photo sporting-heroes.net

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