| Date of birth | 16 October 1982 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Toulouse, France | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 80 kg (12 st 8 lb) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Fly-half, scrum-half | ||
| Professional / senior clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2000-2007 2008-2011 |
Toulouse Toulouse |
147 42 |
(493) (213) |
| correct as of February 1, 2011. | |||
| Super Rugby | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2008, 2011 | Sharks | 9 | (5) |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2001-present | France | 54 | (252) |
| correct as of 15:14, 1 February 2011 (UTC). | |||
Frédéric Michalak (born 16 October 1982 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne) is a French rugby union footballer, who currently plays in South Africa for the Sharks in Super Rugby and the Natal Sharks in the Currie Cup. His early career was spent playing for his hometown team, Toulouse, in the Top 14 and in the Heineken Cup. He moved to South Africa to play for the Sharks in the Super 14 after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but after just one year with the Natal Sharks he moved back to Toulouse. He has also played over 50 tests for France to date. He originally played scrum half but has played mainly at fly-half. He has appeared in advertisements for companies such as Nike and Levis.[1]
Michalak made his debut for Toulouse in 1998. He was a member of the team that won the French championship in 2001 and the Heineken Cup in 2003 and 2005. Michalak made his first appearance for France against South Africa on 10 November 2001 and became a regular on the French side. He was selected as a member of the squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia and the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. Michalak was also a part of the Six Nations French Grand Slam winners in 2004 and the champions of 2006.
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Michalak's club Stade Toulousain were crowned the champions of France in 2001 when they defeated Montferrand in the final 34-22. Later that year, in November, Michalak made his international debut for France, coming on as a replacement in a match against South Africa in Paris at the national stadium, Stade de France. France won the match 20-10. He was then promoted to the starting lineup for a test against Australia the following week in Marseille by head coach Bernard Laporte.[2] Michalak played the match at scrum-half and scored his first points for France in the match, landing one penalty goal. France won the match by one point, 14-13. He was used as a replacement in the subsequent match against Fiji at Saint-Étienne, which France also won.
The following year Michalak was back in the starting line-up for France in a Six Nations match against Italy at Stade de France, which France won 33-12, though Michalak did not play in any other of France's Six Nations matches. France eventually went on to win the tournament. Michalak earned further caps for France that year during June. He was an unused bench replacement in a match against Argentina, but was then moved into the starting line-up for subsequent matches against Australia, both of which France lost.
In 2003 he started at scrum-half for France in their Six Nations match against Italy in Rome at Stadio Flaminio. France won the match with Michalak also scoring his first try for the national team. He played in one other Six Nations match that year, starting against Wales in Paris, where he scored another try in the 33-5 victory. Toulouse proceeded to win the 2002-03 Heineken Cup, defeating fellow French team USA Perpignan 22-17 in the final. Michalak was then included in the national squad for the June tests prior to the 2003 World Cup in Australia. He was not used in France's first match against Argentina, but came off the bench in the second of two. He then started in the following match against the All Blacks, where he scored eight points with his kicking in the loss. He earned subsequent caps in matches against Romania, scoring 14 points with his boot, and against England where he scored 12 of France's 17 points in the one point victory.
Michalak was subsequently included in France's squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and made his World Cup debut against Fiji at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane during the pool stages, where he scored 26 points. He scored over 20 points in another match against Japan, including a try. He also scored a try in the subsequent game against Scotland and was rested for the final pool match against the United States. Michalak was superb in France's 43-21 quarter-final win over Ireland in Melbourne, landing all nine goal attempts (four conversions and five penalties) for a personal haul of 23 points.[3] France would go on to face World Cup favourites England in the semi-final. On a rainy night in Sydney, Michalak endured a nightmare game with the boot, scoring only once from five attempts before eventually getting replaced as France, despite scoring first, went on to lose the game 24-7.[4] Despite this, Michalak still finished the tournament as the second-highest points scorer with 101 points. Only Jonny Wilkinson (113) scored more.
The following year, Michalak played in four of France's Six Nations fixtures all in the starting line-up. He was not used in the match against Italy. Toulouse also made it to the final of the 2003-04 Heineken Cup, though they were defeated by the London Wasps. Michalak gained four more caps in November 2004 against Argentina, Australia and the All Blacks. He played in all of France's 2005 Six Nations matches, as well as Toulouse's 2004-05 Heineken Cup victory over Stade Français. He came into the Heineken Cup final under an injury cloud, but showed no signs of it, even sealing the victory for Toulouse in the end with a late drop goal. Toulouse won 18-12 and became the first ever team to win the Cup three times. He was then capped three times in June for France; twice against the Springboks and once against Australia. Michalak was capped another four times in November, against Australia, Canada, Tonga and South Africa. He was named in France's squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Within seconds of coming as a substitute on in the quarter-finals of the tournament, he made a break and then made a pass to Yannick Jauzion who scored a try which when converted gave France a two point lead which they held onto to beat New Zealand, the tournament favourites.
Michalak signed with The Sharks for the Super 14 in 2008. The team, who had previously signed former French internationals Thierry Lacroix and Olivier Roumat, saw him as a key player in the Currie Cup campaign of the Natal Sharks, the provincial side that operates the Super Rugby side. Michalak made his Super 14 debut against the Stormers.[5] but featured in only nine games before being sidelined by injury and shortly thereafter ending his spell with The Sharks. He played in the 2008 Currie Cup final, helping the Natal Sharks to win and becoming the third Frenchmen, after Olivier Roumat and Thierry Lacroix to win a Currie Cup medal. Michalak re-signed with his former club Toulouse for the start of the 2008-09 season.
Michalak's second spell with Toulouse was frustrated by injury [6] with two serious injuries that limited his appearances for his club.
On May 31, 2011 it was announced that Michalak had signed a one-year contract with the Sharks, effective immediately—which meant that Michalak would not play in Toulouse's Top 14 final on June 4.[7] The Sharks' need to fill vacancies left by injuries to several of their scrumhalves is widely considered a key short-term motive for the signing; in the 2012 season, he is seen as an extra option at fly-half, a position where they had issues in 2011.[8]
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