Morgan Parra (born 15 November 1988) is a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who plays as a Scrum-half and occasionally Fly-half. He plays for Stade Français in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. He played most of his career with Clermont Auvergne after signing for them from

Bourgoin Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of the ...

. He is of Portuguese origin through his father, Antonio.

Career

Parra started playing rugby aged four for Metz. He made his debut for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

aged 19 as a replacement against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the 2008 Six Nations Championship, making his first start for

in a defeat to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

at the

Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foo ...

. He is also a front-line goal-kicker, having taken on the mantle at Test level. At club level Parra came to prominence with

strugglers

, before moving to heavyweights Clermont Auvergne in 2009 replacing Pierre Mignoni and striking up a strong partnership with Australian fly-half

Brock James Brock James (born 22 October 1981 in Victoria, Australia) is a former Australian rugby union player who is currently an attack coach for Ospreys. James learnt to play rugby at Old Collegians in South Australia under the guidance of backs coach, ...

. In 2010 Parra was instrumental in guiding France to a Six Nations Grand Slam. He was picked partly after Julien Dupuy who was first choice in the 2009 autumn internationals was banned for eye gouging. After being paired with the equally youthful Francois Trinh-Duc at halfback he produced a number of masterful performances, including a rout of reigning champions

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

at the Stade de France. After the Grand Slam Parra's fame and popularity rose in France, and is popular not just at his club but a darling to the French media and public. On 23 October 2021 Parra completes a record series of 48 successful penalty kicks in a row against Pau. On 5 June 2022 Parra played his last match for Clermont Auvergne as he signed to play for State Francais from 2022 onwards.

Style

left, Parra directing his forwards Parra is known as a particularly vocal leader of the pack and is known in France as the ''petit général''. He is a reliable kicker.

Honours

Club Clermont

Winner (2):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 2017

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

Winner: 2019 International France Six Nations Winner:

Grand Slam Winner:

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

Runner Up:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

References

External links

*
RBS 6 Nations profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parra, Morgan Living people 1988 births French rugby union players ASM Clermont Auvergne players Stade Français players France international rugby union players French people of Portuguese descent Rugby union scrum-halves Sportspeople from Metz