Sébastien Chabal

Sébastien Chabal (born 8 December 1977) is a French former rugby union player. He played number eight and lock for Bourgoin (1998–2004), Sale Sharks (2004–2009), Racing Métro 92 Paris (2009 – February 2012), and for the French national team. Chabal played professionally for 16 years and won the English Premiership with Sale, and the 2007 Six Nations Championship with France.

He also finished in fourth place at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He earned his first international cap on 4 March 2000 against Scotland, and represented France in 62 games. He is known for his full beard, long hair and ferocious tackling, leading the French rugby fans to nickname him l'Homme des Cavernes (Caveman). With this look, he has a number of lucrative commercial contracts.

He was one of the most popular sportsmen in France, so much that local journalists wrote about Chabalmania. Born on 8 December 1977 in Valence, Drôme, Chabal grew up in Beaumont-lès-Valence in the Drôme department in southeast France. His modest family was originally from Ardèche. His father worked in a garage and his mother worked in a jewellery store.

Passionate about mechanical works, he attended a Lycée professionnel where he studied for and obtained a brevet d'études professionnelles in mechanics.He then worked as a milling machine operator in a Salmson factory in Crest. While working in Crest, he played rugby for the amateur club in Beauvallon. When he joined Valence Sportif, he left his factory job and became a professional rugby union player.

While playing for Bourgoin-Jallieu, he married Annick and became stepfather to her daughter who was born in 1994. In 2005, he welcomed the birth of his daughter Lily-Rose. Chabal is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Monaco-based international organization Peace and Sport.

In 2019, Sébastien Chabal studied at EM Lyon Business School. Chabal first tried rugby at the age of nine, but gave it up after just two months. However, he again tried his hand at rugby when he was sixteen, by following two friends who played for the local club in Beauvallon. This time, he discovered a passion for the game, and the camaraderie that follows matches.

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