Fabien Pelous

Fabien Pelous

Fabien Pelous in Toulouse, 2008
Date of birth	(1973-12-07) 7 December 1973 (age 43)
Place of birth	Toulouse, France
Height	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight	114 kg (17 st 13 lb)
Occupation(s)	Physiotherapist and pro rugby player
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Lock, number eight, flanker
Amateur clubs Years Club / team     1983–1991 1991–1995 Saverdun SC Graulhet Correct as of 16 September 2007
Professional / senior clubs Years Club / team Caps (points) 1995–1997 1997–2009 US Dax Stade Toulousain Correct as of 16 September 2007
National team(s) Years Club / team Caps (points) 1995–2007 France 118 (40) Correct as of 14 October 2007

Fabien Pelous (born 7 December 1973) is a retired French rugby union footballer. A lock who also occasionally played as a number eight and flanker, he played almost all of his professional career for Stade Toulousain, and is the all-time leader in appearances for the French national team. He retired as the most-capped lock for any nation in rugby history, with 100 of his 118 France appearances at that position, a record later broken by South Africa's Victor Matfield and All Blacks' Richie McCaw.

The son of a family of local farmers, Pelous was born in Toulouse and was introduced to rugby in Saverdun.

Pelous made his test début on 17 October 1995 against Romania.

He proved himself an inspirational captain for France after succeeding Fabien Galthié ahead of the 2004 RBS 6 Nations and enjoyed immediate success, leading Les Bleus to the Grand Slam in his first year and followed that up with a second-placed finish in 2005.

Pelous missed the summer test matches in 2005 with a serious knee injury. He returned to action in September and helped France to a 26–16 win over Australia in November. However, he was handed a nine-week ban in the aftermath of that victory after being found guilty of elbowing Australia hooker Brendan Cannon.