Laurent Bénézech (born 19 December 1966 in

Pamiers Pamiers (; ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it is not t ...

) 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 ...

footballer. He played as a prop. Benezech played first at Sporting Club Appaméen, until 1985. He moved then 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 ...

, where he would stay until 1989, moving to

Racing Club de France Racing Club de France, also known as RCF, is a French multi-sport club that was founded on 20 April 1882 under the name Racing Club. Racing Club changed its name to Racing Club de France (RCF) on 21 November 1885. The club is located at the Bois ...

, that he represented for seven years. He spent a season at Harlequins, in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, returning to play for

RC Narbonne Racing Club de Narbonne Méditerannée (also known as RCNM) is a French rugby union club that play in the third-level Nationale. They are based in Narbonne in the Aude '' département'' of Occitania. They were founded in 1907. They play at P ...

, where he would finish his career in 2000. He won the title of French Champion with Racing Club de France, in 1990. He had 15 caps for

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 ...

, from 1994 to 1995, without ever scoring. He played at the Five Nations in 1994 and 1995. He was also selected for the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup (), was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in ...

finals, playing a single game in the 54–18 win over

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

. Benezech after ending his player career become a sports consultant. He also published the following books: * ''Anatomie d'Une Partie de Rugby'' (2007), * ''Rugby, où sont passées tes valeurs? : un joueur brise l'omerta'', éd. La Martinière, (2014)

External links

1966 births Living people People from Pamiers French rugby union players 20th-century French sportsmen Rugby union props France international rugby union players Rugby union players from Ariège (department) 1995 Rugby World Cup players Racing 92 players Stade Toulousain players Harlequin F.C. players {{France-rugbyunion-bio-1960s-stub