Sébastien Chabal (born 8 December 1977) is a French former

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 played number eight and

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

for Bourgoin (1998–2004),

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

(2004–2009),

Racing Métro 92 Paris Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...

(2009 – February 2012), and for the French national team. Chabal played professionally for 16 years and won the English Premiership with Sale, and the 2007 Six Nations Championship with France. He also finished in fourth place at the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

. He earned his first 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 ...

on 4 March 2000 against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and represented France in 62 games. He is known for his full beard, long hair and ferocious tackling, leading the French rugby fans to nickname him ''l'Homme des Cavernes'' (Caveman). With this look, he has a number of lucrative commercial contracts. He was one of the most popular sportsmen in France, so much that local journalists wrote about ''Chabalmania''.

Personal life

Born on 8 December 1977 in Valence,

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

, Chabal grew up in Beaumont-lès-Valence in the Drôme department in southeast France. His modest family was originally from

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019. His father worked in a garage and his mother worked in a jewellery store. Passionate about mechanical works, he attended a Lycée professionnel where he studied for and obtained a '' brevet d'études professionnelles'' in mechanics. He then worked as a milling machine operator in a

Salmson Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century, returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services ...

factory in Crest. While working in Crest, he played rugby for the amateur club in Beauvallon. When he joined Valence Sportif, he left his factory job and became a professional rugby union player. While playing for Bourgoin-Jallieu, he married Annick and became stepfather to her daughter who was born in 1994. In 2005, he welcomed the birth of his daughter Lily-Rose. Chabal is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

-based international organizatio
Peace and Sport
In 2025, Chabal admits that he has no recollection of his entire playing career and most of his childhood due to repeated concussions. Due to this, he also finds it pointless to see a doctor, as it is impossible to recover his lost memories.

Playing career

Early years

Chabal first tried rugby at the age of nine, but gave it up after just two months. However, he again tried his hand at rugby when he was sixteen, by following two friends who played for the local club in Beauvallon. This time, he discovered a passion for the game, and the camaraderie that follows matches. He quickly made his way up, through the French league system. First with Valence Sportif who played in the

Fédérale 2 Fédérale 2 is a rugby union club championship division in France. It is the sixth division of rugby above Fédérale 3. Teams can earn promotion to Fédérale 1, and subsequently, to the National 2 and Nationale leagues, and on to the profes ...

, the fourth division of French rugby, and then with CS Bourgoin-Jallieu in 1998 who played in the top flight. Here, he played as a flanker as his preferred position of number eight was taken by Pierre Raschi. With Bourgoin-Jallieu, Chabal played at the highest level of French domestic rugby, European club rugby and from here gained his first international cap for France. Moreover, at Bourgoin-Jallieu he played with the golden generation of players from the club's youth system such as Lionel Nallet, Julien Bonnaire, Olivier Milloud, Pascal Papé, and Benjamin Boyet. However, he did not win any trophies during this time although he played in the semi-final of the French Championship during the 2003–2004 season. He also played on the losing side in the 1998–99 European Challenge Cup final, the final of the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1999, the final of the League Cup in 2003 and the final of the Challenge Sud-Radio in 2003. On 11 October 2002, during the group stages of the 2002–2003 Heineken Cup, Bourgoin, with Chabal, defeated

18–24 at Edgeley Park, the home of Sale Sharks. During this match, Jason Robinson received a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

for the first time in his career following a tackle from Chabal. In the return match, Bourgoin again defeated Sale, but finished second in their group to

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Iparralde, Basque city of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

as they had scored fewer tries. During the 2003–2004 Heineken Cup, Chabal and Bourgoin played against

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

in the group stage. On 6 December 2003, Bourgoin lost their first match at home against the Irish province 17–18. Chabal scored the only try of the encounter, but

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara (born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland's third most-capped player and second highest points scorer. He i ...

scored six penalty kicks. One week later, Bourgoin suffered a heavy defeat away at the hands of Gloucester 49–13, with Chabal again scoring the only try for his team. Bourgoin lost against Gloucester at home, and lost five of six matches during their 2003–2004 European campaign, finishing third in their pool and were eliminated from the competition. On 25 January 2004, the head coach of Bourgoin, Philippe Saint-André, was sacked after he applied for the position of head coach of the Welsh national team, left vacant following the departure of

Steve Hansen Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen. He was the head coach of the New Zealand na ...

. The ambitious plan for Bourgoin initiated by Laurent Seigne under the direction of Pierre Martinet and Patrick Sébastien had ended.

English experience

Following the departure of Saint-André, and after six years wearing the blue jersey of Bourgoin, Chabal wanted to change his horizons and continue his professional development as a player at another club. He wished to join

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 ...

, but the club of the ''Ville Rose'' made no offer for his services. However, Saint-André, now sporting director at Sale Sharks, signed him on a two-year contract with the

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

outfit. Although Chabal had played at flanker throughout his time at Bourgoin, Saint-André selected him at number eight in his first match for Sale. The 2004–2005 English Premiership marked the return of

to the country's top flight under the guidance of Saint-André. In their first two matches of the season, Sale, with Chabal, won against both

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

and London Wasps, the favourites for the title that year. The English club won the 2004–05 European Challenge Cup beating Pau 27–3 in the final. This was the first title won by Chabal. The Sharks lost their 2004–05 domestic league semi-final 43–22 against the eventual victors London Wasps, despite a try from Chabal, but finished the season in third place, securing their place in the 2005–06 Heineken Cup. By the end of the season, Chabal had made the position of Sharks No. 8 his own. Chabal's second season with the English outfit brought more success. First, Sale reached the quarter-finals of the 2005–2006 Heineken Cup losing to

. Earlier in the group stages, Chabal was the victim of a gang tackle by Paul O'Connell and Anthony Foley during Sale's group-deciding match against Munster at

Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Munster Rugby and has Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park from 2013 to 2015 in the Le ...

. Chabal had only just caught a Ronan O'Gara restart when he was hit hard and driven back into his teams 22. The tackle was to turn the match in Munster's favour and established something of a stigma for Chabal against the Irish province (as he would be hit hard a number times by Munster centre Lifeimi Mafi in a match during the 2008–2009 season again with a crowd-pleasing outcome). Nevertheless, back in the English league, Sale won the 2005–06 Guinness Premiership by beating London Wasps 22–12 in the semi-final before defeating Leicester Tigers 45–20 in the final. With his two-year contract now up, Chabal turned down an offer to join

and extended his contract with the Sharks for a further year. The 2006–2007 season was not as successful as 2005–2006. Sale finished sixth in the Guinness Premiership and were eliminated in the group stages of 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 ...

. However, during the group stages of the Heineken Cup, Sale played against

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 during the match in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Chabal scored an interception try from Agustín Pichot, running 50 metres to the line. Following this performance, Chabal was selected for the French national side for the 2007 Six Nations Championship. The 2007–2008 season was met with more success than the 2006–07, with victories against some of the best teams in the domestic championship, but a home defeat to

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

on the last day of the regular season confined Sale to finishing the season in fifth place. However, this guaranteed them a place in the 2008–09 Heineken Cup having played in the 2007–08 European Challenge Cup. During the quarter-final of the European Challenge Cup against

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze, Corrèze department. Brive is a historical member of French rugby un ...

, Chabal scored the first of six tries for the English side, but injured his knee. This injury forced him out of action for one month, during which Sale lost 36–14 to

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground, Bath, Rec ...

in the semi-finals. In December 2007, Chabal extended his contract with Sale for a further two years. For the 2008–2009 season, Saint-André started playing Chabal in the second row instead of his more usual position of No. 8 or flanker. During the group stages of the

, Sale were grouped with

and Clermont, losing against both and depriving Sale and Chabal from the final phases of the competition. In the domestic competition, Sale were on course for a place in the playoffs, but not for a European competition place. However, in the penultimate game of the regular season, Chabal scored an important try that gave Sale an important bonus point and a place in the European competition. Despite this, during the last day of the regular season, although Sale won their match, results elsewhere led to Sale missing out on the play-offs and terminating the season for Chabal. Philippe Saint-André had announced in December 2008 that he was to leave Sale Sharks at the end of the 2008–09 season with Kingsley Jones named as his successor. Chabal had already announced that he wished to return to play in France, his family had already left England in September 2008.

Return to France

After five years at Sale, Chabal officially signed a three-year contract with the French club Racing Métro 92 in April 2009. The French club were recently promoted to 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 ...

in 2009 after winning the 2008–2009 Pro D2 with three rounds to spare. They also signed Lionel Nallet and the South African's François Steyn and Jacques Cronjé. Racing enjoyed success in their return to the top flight, claiming the sixth and final slot in the newly expanded Top 14 playoffs, where they narrowly lost in the first round at eventual champions Clermont. Racing's sixth-place finish also gave them a berth in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup. In September 2010, it was reported that Chabal was the highest-paid rugby player in the world, earning a reported €1 million per year. Shane Richardson, Chief Executive of the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

, an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

club revealed the club had contacted Chabal's management to inquire about the possibility to switch codes, where he would play "a portion of his season with the club." The club were unsuccessful in their attempts to pursue Chabal. During the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 seasons Chabal played for

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. He finished his playing career on a high in May 2014 by helping Lyon being promoted to the top division.

International career

Although Chabal is primarily a back-row player, former France coach Bernard Laporte frequently used him as a

. In a 2007 interview, Chabal said that Laporte called him just before the France squad was announced for the

and told him, "I really want to pick you but to play second row." Chabal accepted Laporte's offer. At France's loss to England in the semi-final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Chabal was visibly distraught, as they failed to make it to the final. Chabal was not included in Les Bleus squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship. He expressed a desire to continue to represent his country, and believed that omission from the June tour to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

would indicate that he was out of reckoning for France's 2011 World Cup preparations. On 9 June 2008 he was recalled to the France squad for their Australian tour. He was selected in the French squad for the 2008 Autumn internationals. He was called once again for the 2009 Six Nations Championship. In May 2011 Chabal was left out of France's provisional 32-man squad 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 ...

Other appearances

In February 2012, Chabal made an appearance with Balmain Rugby Union from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

for one game against Petersham Rugby Club at ANZ Stadium. The game featured as a curtain raiser to the Round 1 Super Rugby game between the

NSW Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play ...

and

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...

. Chabal's appearance created a media hype in both Australia and France. In the game, Chabal scored the last try for Balmain, winning 19–5. In January 2014, Chabal appeared in an advertising campaign for an online currency exchange company

CurrencyFair CurrencyFair is an online currency exchange platform that until 2023 offered a peer-to-peer currency exchange service. CurrencyFair is headquartered in Ireland and also has employees in the UK, Australia, Greece, Hong Kong, Poland and Singapore. ...

as the "Currency Fairy". He is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of more than 90 famous elite created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H Prince Albert II. This group of top-level champions, wishes to make sport a tool for dialogue and social cohesion.

References

External links

Sale profile

Sporting-Heroes (part 1)

Sporting-Heroes (part 2)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chabal, Sebastien 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Valence, Drôme Rugby union players from Drôme French rugby union players France international rugby union players Rugby union locks Rugby union number eights CS Bourgoin-Jallieu players Lyon OU Rugby players Racing 92 players Sale Sharks players French expatriate rugby union players in England Emlyon Business School alumni 2003 Rugby World Cup players ROC La Voulte-Valence players