Christophe Dominici

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Christophe Dominici
Rugby ST.F-ST.T 27022007-12.JPG
Playing for Stade Français in 2008
Full name Christophe Dominici
Date of birth (1972-05-20)20 May 1972
Place of birth Toulon, France
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Place of death Saint-Cloud, France
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Weight 180 lb (82 kg)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Wing
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
1989–1991 Solliès-Pont
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1991–1993
1993–1997
1997–2008		 La Valette
Toulon
Stade Français		  ?
?
142		  ?
?
(238)
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1998–2007 France 65 (125)
correct as of 28 July 2008.
Coaching career
Years Club / team
2008–2009 Stade Français (backs)

Christophe Dominici (20 May 1972 – 24 November 2020) was a French rugby union player. He played wing for Stade Français and France. He was a coach with Stade Français from the start of the 2008-09 season and a board member from 2009/10 season.

Early life

Christophe Dominici was born in Toulon to a family from Santa-Reparata-di-Balagna, in Corsica.[1] By his own account he had a difficult, sometimes turbulent childhood.[2] He was outstanding at football and for a while was training with AS Monaco, where he met Lilian Thuram, with whom he maintained a close friendship. However he decided to concentrate on the oval ball at which he showed exceptional talent and he was playing regularly for Solliès-Pont from the age of 16.

Club career

He joined his home town side the RC Toulonnais, where he was a regular for four seasons from 1993 to 1997. His form earned a move to Stade Français in Paris, one of the giants of the French club game, where he played from 1997 to 2008. He was part of an era when Stade Français won five French championships and other honours. He joined their coaching staff at the start of the 2008/9 season.

International career

Dominici burst onto the international scene in 1998 with a try-scoring debut against England. The following year, he lit up the 1999 Rugby World Cup with his pace, particularly in the semi-final win against the All Blacks.[3] But his career was not without its setbacks, off-field problems forcing him out of the squad at times.

Dominici had a fine try-scoring record and grabbed four during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, but he had a nightmare moment in the 2004 Six Nations Championship against Italy when, having crossed the try-line, he dropped the ball when trying to put it down with one hand. He started all five of Les Bleus' 2005 RBS 6 Nations games.

Christophe Dominici won the last of his 65 caps for France in the defeat to Argentina in the World Cup bronze-medal match in October 2007.

Following the 33–6 Top 14 home win over Montpellier by his club side Stade Français, on 5 January 2008, he announced his international retirement with the following statement:

France, it is over for me. It has been a big part of my life. At a certain moment, you must know to turn the page. There are other players who are also capable of bringing something [to the team]. It is a new beginning, with an objective in four years' time [the 2011 World Cup]. ... If I am honest, I know that I will not make that.[4]

Club and international honours

Club

  • Ligue Nationale de Rugby 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07
  • Finalist : 2004 – 05
  • Finalist: Heineken Cup (European Cup) 2000–2001, 2004–05
  • French Cup winner: 1998–99
  • Finalist : 1997–98

International playing statistics

  • 65 caps for France 1998 to 2007
  • 25 Tries (125 points)
  • Caps by Year: 4 in 1998, 10 in 1999, 4 in 2000, 8 in 2001, 9 in 2003, 7 in 2004, 5 in 2005, 8 in 2006, 7 in 2007
  • Six/Five Nations appearances: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007

Rugby World Cup playing statistics

2 Tries (2 v Georgia)

4 Tries (2 against Fiji, 1 v Japan, 1 v Ireland)

2 Tries (1 v Fiji, 1 v New Zealand)

Other

He was a contestant on the third season of Danse avec les stars; he was first to be eliminated.[5]

After retiring, he was a sports pundit on French TV and radio.[3]

Personal life and death

In May 2007 he published an autobiography, Bleu à l'âme.[2] In it he revealed that he had suffered severe bouts of depression following the death of his older sister,[6] and that he had been brutalised as a child.

Moments before his death on 24 November 2020, Dominici was seen climbing the roof of an abandoned building at Saint-Cloud Park, near Paris. Tributes were given from around the world to honour the player and man [3]

References

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  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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  1. REDIRECT Template:France 1999 Rugby World Cup squad

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  1. REDIRECT Template:France 2003 Rugby World Cup squad

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