Jacques Fouroux

Jacques Fouroux (born the July 24th 1947 with Auch in France and deceased the December 17th 2005 in its birthplace of a Heart attack), was a Rugby French man. He played station of half of fray.

Young player

Called the Small Corporal because of his energy to carry out its team, of her sturdy character and its small size for a player of Rugby (1m62). Its course in club was modest because it evolved/moved in clubs second-rate (Cognac, Voulte, where it arrives the year following the title, and Auch). But the team of France was going to offer an exceptional field of expression to him. Left like lining Richard Star at the time of a round to South Africa in 1975, in spite of its gauge and its knock knees in a world of esthète, he affirmed himself like a large born leader, in particular near the fronts. He was especially the captain of the French fifteens winner of the Grand Slam at the time of the Five Nations tournament in 1977 with same the 15 players having disputed all four meeting.

Trainer-selector

Later, this quality of leader and its facundity naturally led it to the head of the team of France as a trainer. He was named at the end of 1980 to replace Élie Pebeyre, whereas the team of France crossed a very bad master key (penultimate of the Tournament, crushed in South Africa, beaten by Romania). Fouroux, which profited then from the absolute support of the president of the Fédération, Albert Ferrasse, obtained to become the first true trainer-selector of the XV of France, whereas up to that point, the choice of the players was left with the only appreciation of a selection committee. This one will still perdurera a few years, but will end up disappearing. Especially, Fouroux, which went to the yell and nourished tension and conflict, imposes its decisions and chooses its men.

The results will be with the height of the revolution and its ambitions. Fouroux brings a new continuity in the performance. It opens its career of trainer by a Grand Slam in 1981, without never losing more than only one meeting per Tournoi of 1983 to 1989 (before that the team of France had beaten only Ireland with bets in the Tournament 1982). Fouroux leads its troops to the final victory into 1983,1986,1988,1989, glanant in way a second Large Slam in 1987. In ten years, France will finish only twice beyond the second place.

The greatest feat of arms of Fouroux will remain however the participation in the finale of very first the World cup of Rugby 1987 against the New Zealand with Auckland. In spite of the defeat, it will return as hero, with the memory to have made touch the shoulders of powerful the Wallabies on their ground in semi-final, what to make conceal those which reproached him never for not having gained series of tests in the southern hemisphere.

Specialist in the set of fronts, Fouroux makes polemic by often choosing very physical players at the expense of the finer creators, to which French Rugby was accustomed. He even tries to impose the bajadita , a technique of pushed in fray used in Argentina,

In August 1990, he resigns after a defeat against Romania (with Auch, its birthplace, supreme humiliation) and becomes vice-president of FR. Become general secretary of the federation in 1991, he resigns of the national authorities in 1992 and returns to the ground as trainer of FC Grenoble. At its head, it reaches the finale of the championship of France, grace in particular to a surpuissant pack called “the mammoths”. The defeat will leave him a bitter taste so much so that he will shout with the injustice, affirming that a plot of the federal capacity aiming it had done everything to support the victory of the Olympic Castres with its costs.

It opera hat then the door of Rugby with XV and launches out in 1994 in the creation of a professional league of Rugby to thirteen, the France Rugby League. Fouroux, which had briefly accepted the presidency of the Paris SG Rugby League in June 1996, resigns of all its functions on September 1st, 1996, and the league disappears.

After a short passage by the Racing club of France, it agrees to become the sport director of FC Grenoble, for the season 2005-06, but the retrogradation of the club in Fédérale 1 for financial reasons kills this project in egg.

It then takes with the Italian club of Aquila Rugby before being laid off three months about it later, on November 4th, 2005, six weeks before its death.

He wrote Rugby with Henri Garcia ED. Robert Laffont in 1984, and prefaced the album of the photographer Daniel Square Maignié oval: the spirit of Rugby ED. Subervie in 1998.

It is also one of the cofounders of the French Barbarians in 1977.

Career of player in club

: until 1970
: 1970-1976
: 1976-1981

Career of trainer and managing in club

Grenoble: 1992-1993
RC Orleans (to manage general): 2000-2001
Grenoble: June 2005. (The club being relegated administratively, Fouroux, which had signed as managing, does not remain.)
Aquila Rugby (Italy): September-November 2005

Career of trainer in national selection

Trainer of the team of France between 1981 and 1990

Prize list

Equip with France

Player

28 selections, including 21 as a captain of 1972 to 1977
Large Slam in 1977 as a captain

Victorious Trainer

of the Five Nations tournament: 1981,1983,1986,1987,1988,1989

Large Slam: 1981,1987

Finalist of the World cup of Rugby: 1987.

Championship of France

Trainer

Final of the Championship of France with FC Grenoble in 1993

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