Francisco Fernandes Moreira (born 6 September 1985) is a rugby union player. He plays as a prop. He was born and raised in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but is capped by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Club career

He first played for AS Soustons. He moved to

US Tyrosse US or Us most often refers to: * ''Us'' (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun ''we'' * US, an abbreviation for the United States US, U.S., Us, us, or u.s. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Albums * ...

, where he would play from 2005/06 to 2010/11, first at the

Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

, and after the first season at the

Fédérale 1 The championnat de France de rugby à XV de 1re division fédérale (), a.k.a. Fédérale 1 (), is a French rugby union club competition, it is the elite of amateur rugby in France. The competition has been organised by the Fédération Français ...

. He moved to

AS Béziers Hérault Association sportive de Béziers Hérault (; ), often referred to by rugby media simply by its location of Béziers, is a French rugby union club currently playing in the second level of the country's professional rugby system, Pro D2. They earn ...

at 2011/12, at

, his first professional team, where he has been playing since then. He reached the mark of 250 games at the

in 2021.

International career

Fernandes has 50 caps for

, with 2 tries scored, 10 points on aggregate, since his debut at the 14-10 loss to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, at 6 February 2010, in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, for the

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 ...

qualifyings, when he was 24 years old. He has been playing more regularly for the Portuguese side since 2020. He played at the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

, where he was the oldest player, at 38 years old.Francisco Fernandes alcança marca dos 50 jogos pelos Lobos, Federação Portuguesa de Rugby (Portuguese)
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References

1985 births Living people Portuguese rugby union players Portugal international rugby union players French rugby union players French sportspeople of Portuguese descent Rugby union props AS Béziers Hérault players 2023 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century French sportsmen Union Sportive Tyrosse Rugby Côte Sud players {{portugal-rugbyunion-bio-stub