David Skrela (born 2 March 1979) is a former French

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. He most notably played for

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

and

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

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 National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

as well as the French national side as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He was renowned for his tackles and his kicking skills.

Club career

In three years at Toulouse he won the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

and the

. In the 2010 Heineken Cup final he scored three penalties and two drop goals as Toulouse defeated Biarritz.

International career

Skrela won his first full international

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for France on 30 June 2001 against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He did not earn his second until six years later, when his performances for Stade Français attracted the attention of French coach

Bernard Laporte Bernard Laporte (born 1 July 1964) is a rugby player, coach and former French Secretary of State for Sport. From 1999 to 2007, Laporte was the head coach of the France national team. In 2011, he became the head coach at Toulon, after Philippe ...

. He was part of the 2007 France Six Nations and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

squads and played in many of the team's matches. After returning to his hometown club

he was again selected under new coach

Marc Lièvremont Marc Lièvremont (born 28 October 1968) is a former rugby union footballer and was the head coach of the French national rugby union team. He played as a back-row forward for France, gaining 25 caps from 1995 to 1999, and was selected in France' ...

for France's 2008 autumn tests. On 11 May 2011 he was selected by

to participate in the next

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

. The French coach underlined Skrela's skills and maturity. Skrela was injured in the opening game against Japan and withdrew from the tournament and replaced by

Jean-Marc Doussain Jean-Marc Doussain (born 12 February 1991) is a former French rugby union fly half. He played club rugby for Toulouse and Lyon and appeared 17 times for the French national side. He made his debut for France France, officially the French ...

. France were beaten in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

by hosts

. (Source
French Rugby Federation official website
profile.)

Personal life

Skrela is the son of the famous French international rugby player and coach

Jean-Claude Skrela Jean-Claude Skrela (born 1 October 1949 in Colomiers, Haute-Garonne) is a former coach of the French national rugby union team. His son, David Skrela, is a French rugby union player and his daughter, Gaëlle Skrela, is a professional basketball p ...

. His sister, Gaëlle, is a professional basketball player. He is of Polish descent on his father's side. At his father's insistence, he completed a diploma in civil engineering at Toulouse's

Institut National des Sciences Appliquées The Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (, INSA; "National Institute for Applied Sciences") is a French engineering university. There are seven INSA establishments organised as a network and located in major French regional cities Lyon, ...

before beginning his rugby career full-time. He is married to Celine, and has a daughter and a son; Cabiro and Mathieu.

Honours

US Colomiers Union Sportive Colomiers Rugby or Rugby Colomiers is a French rugby union club currently competing in Pro D2, the second level of the French rugby pyramid. They had been relegated from Pro D2 after finishing last in the 2006–07 season, but ...

European 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 ...

: 1998

French championship The French rugby league championship () was the top tier of the French rugby league system from its inception in 1934 until 2002 when the league was split into two divisions; the Elite One Championship and Elite Two Championship. In all seasons ...

: 2004, 2007

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () (), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successfu ...

: 2011 *

: 2010

References

External links

David Skrela
on ercrugby.com
French Rugby Federation official website
profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skrela, David 1979 births Living people Rugby union players from Toulouse French rugby union players Colomiers Rugby players Stade Français Paris players Stade Toulousain players ASM Clermont Auvergne players French people of Polish descent France international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves