Florian Verhaeghe (born 27 April 1997) is a 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, who plays for

Montpellier Hérault Rugby Montpellier Hérault Rugby (MHR) (; ) is a French professional rugby union club, based in Montpellier, Occitanie and named after the Hérault department. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, the Top 14. They original ...

. His regular playing position is Lock.

Biography

Born in

Saint-Pol-sur-Mer Saint-Pol-sur-Mer (, literally ''Saint-Pol on Sea''; ; Picard: ''Saint-Po-dsu-Mér'') is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France. Since 9 December 2010, it is part of the commune of Dunkirk.Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

of France, Florian Verhaeghe and his family moved to

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

when he was aged only 4. After a short spell in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, Verhaeghe started playing

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

with

US Montauban US Montauban () is a French rugby union club that currently competes in Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They have also competed at the top level, Top 14, in the past, most recently between 2007 and 2010. The ...

as he was 10 years old, before moving to

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 ...

6 years later.

Club career

Verhaeghe started playing with

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 ...

's senior team during the 2016–17 season, notably starting his first game on the 6 May 2017, during a home

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 ...

win against

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

, that would also prove to be the legend

Thierry Dusautoir Thierry Dusautoir (; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. He was called the "Dark Destroyer" during his career. Dusautoi ...

last game. After the 2019–20 season, while he was regularly present in the Toulouse professional squad but not as a regular starter, he chose to sign for their Top 14 rival of Montpellier HR. There, after a season where he was often injured, whilst still managing to start the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

victorious final with MHR, Verhaeghe really became a key element of his team during the 2021–22 Top 14 season.

International career

Already an under-18 European champion and a captain with the under-20 for France, Verhaeghe was first called to the French national senior team by

Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié (; born 20 March 1969) is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later on i ...

on the 18 October 2021, for the autumn internationals.

References

External links

France profile
at FFR * 1997 births Living people French rugby union players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players People from Saint-Pol-sur-Mer Rugby union locks US Montauban players Rugby union players from Nord (French department) Sportspeople from Montauban Rugby union players from Tarn-et-Garonne France international rugby union players 21st-century French sportsmen {{France-rugbyunion-bio-1990s-stub