Philippe SELLA

Philippe Sella retired from international rugby in 1995 after a thirteen year career having amassed a mighty 111 caps, more than any other player in history. A mainstay of the Agen club, Philippe's game was based on solid defence and lethal finishing ability that brought him 36 tries in internationals and put him second on France's all time list behind Serge Blanco. Harlequins' Jamie Salmon played for both New Zealand and England at centre in the 1980s and reckoned Sella was the best around at the time: "As an All Black I had played against the excellent Roland Bertranne, but Sella was one of the first players to have a major physical presence in midfield." Together with the likes of Blanco, Pierre Berbizier, Didier Cambererbero, Frank Mesnel and Laurent Rodriguez, Philippe helped make France the top side in Europe during the 1980s, and the only one capable of challenging New Zealand and Australia on an equal basis.

Upon retirement, his 50 appearances in the Five Nations Championship was also a French record, a tally he shared with Rory Underwoord and one bettered only by Ireland's Mike Gibson (56). Sella's debut came in 1982 at the age of 20 against Romania in Bucharest. It was an unhappy match for Philippe, France lost the game 13-9 and he spent the night in hospital with concussion. Sella's next two outings were more successful and came in the form of a 2-0 series victory against Argentina, the second test seeing his first two tries for France. 1983 marked Sella's debut in the Five Nations, and he played in all four matches, scoring a try in the first game of the campaign against England at Twickenham (see picture above). The match was won 19-15, and France followed it up by winning their next match against Scotland by the same scoreline. However, their Grand Slam ambitions were ended by the 1982 champions Ireland, who won 22-16 in Dublin.

Matches against Wales eventually proved crucial for both teams - Ireland lost in Cardiff whilst France were able to win their final game 16-9 to earn a share of the Championship. That season winger Patrick Esteve achieved the rare feat of scoring in every game for France, only the third man to do so, and something Philippe would himself accomplish a couple of years later. Later in the year Philippe played in both matches of a victorious two test series against the touring Australians which saw France win 15-6 in Paris after the first game in Clermont Ferrand had been drawn 15-15. (Jon Collins)

In 1984 France again won three matches in the Championship, with Philippe scoring tries against Ireland, Wales and England. Remarkably, France's victory against Wales was their first in Cardiff since 1968. Philippe and France travelled to Murrayfield in search of the Grand Slam, but were denied by a pragmatic Scottish side who themselves took the honour by winning 21-12. The 1985 season saw France go unbeaten in the Championship, but two draws meant that Ireland, wooden spoonists in 1984, were the champions for the third time in four seasons. In 1986 Philippe enjoyed one of his best ever Five Nations and scored in every Championship game, only the fourth man to do so.

His first came in an 18-17 defeat by Scotland when he was fed by Serge Blanco, whilst his second against Ireland saw the ball move from one side of the field to the other and pass through no fewer than 21 pairs of hands before Philippe finally ran in. Wales were then dispatched 23-15 with Philippe showing his enormous strength by dragging several defenders over the line with him for another score. His personal triumph was completed against England in a typically French move that started in their own half. As Sella received the congratulations of his teammates, commentator Nigel Starmer Smith declared that his achievement was "No better tribute for the outstanding player in the Championship". Philippe had little time to rest for he played in no fewer than eight further internationals, scoring four more tries to bring his tally to eight for the year. The summer tours included three losses in the Southern Hemisphere to Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, but France had the last laugh on New Zealand when they won 16-3 in Nantes in the autumn. (Jon Collins)

1987 was a banner year for France and Philippe Sella, but although the cockerels were easily the best in Europe they were just short of the class needed to become the first World Champions. France approached the year with a serious intent and sealed their first Grand Slam since 1981 with four hard fought victories, all of which were by just seven points or less. After an opening 16-9 win over Wales, Philippe had the pleasure of scoring his third try against England in a 19-15 win at Twickenham when he intercepted a pass between the opposing scrum-half (Richard Hill) and stand-off (Rob Andrew) before sprinting home past the despairing challenges of Mike Harrison and Marcus Rose (see pictures above - Harrison is number 14, Rose 15 and Eric Bonneval (11) is the Frenchman with arms aloft, celebrating the try). Earlier in the game England had led by 12-3 before France clawed their way back through a Serge Blanco drop goal and a try by Eric Bonneval.

Perhaps the highlight of the campaign was France's epic 28-22 win over Scotland in Paris, a game which saw six tries in total, including another three for Bonneval. The Grand Slam was sealed with a 19-13 win over Ireland in Dublin, another game in which France were forced to come from behind to win. Years later Philippe revealed that France's achievement had an air of inevitability about it, especially since the side had been together for four years: "Each year we got better, and after the narrow defeat to Scotland in 1986 we were a year older and wiser. Sometimes in rugby a year can make all the difference." France then travelled down under for the World Cup, and started out with a 20-20 draw with fierce rivals Scotland, against whom Philippe weighed in with another try. Scotland could have won the game in the final minute, but the usually reliable Gavin Hastings missed a kickable penalty goal. France then beat Romania and Zimbabwe by large margins, and their superior points difference proved crucial. Indeed, by finishing top of the group, France were handed a relatively straightforward quarter-final with Fiji whilst the Scots had to face New Zealand. France duly dispatched Fiji and their next opponents were Australia, a side packed with stars and enjoying home advantage.

France won an epic match in Sydney 30-24, with Philippe scoring one of his teams three tries after good work by Pierre Berbizier and Serge Blanco. The Aussies responded with tries by David Campese and David Codey, but it was France's day. In the final they met New Zealand, a superb side who were still smarting from the defeat in Nantes in 1986. The All Blacks dominated the game and in the end won comfortably 29-9. Though France failed to rise to the occasion, they had surpassed all expectations to get that far. Philippe rounded off an exhausting year with a 49-3 victory over Romania in his home town of Agen. (Jon Collins)

In 1988 France lacked the same sparkle as the year before, but were still good enough to deny a revived Wales the Grand Slam with a 10-9 victory in Cardiff, a result which saw both sides share the Championship. It was in France's narrow victory against England in Paris that Philippe duelled for the first time with a certain Will Carling, the beginning of great rivalry that the Englishman often won. France also played Argentina on no fewer than four occasions, home and away, winning three of the encounters. The 1989 Championship again went to France, but an 11-0 loss at Twickenham was their first against "les rosbifs" since 1982, the beginning of a losing streak that would last until Philippe's final game for France in 1995. In the summer France lost twice more to New Zealand on tour, and then took on Australia at home in the autumn.

Philippe and partner Frank Mesnel were given the runaround by the unknowns Tim Horan and Jason Little, and the series was eventually drawn 1-1. The 1990 season was an unusually poor one for France, suffering heavy defeats by both England and eventual champions Scotland. Against Ireland in the final "dead rubber", Philippe also had to deputise at fullback when Serge Blanco was knocked out in a collision. Australia were again the opponents in the summer in a three test series that saw both sides display violence and skill in equal doses. However, Philippe failed to register in any of the tests and his team went down 2-1.

In 1991 France were confident that they could repeat their form of 1987 by winning the Grand Slam and challenging for the World Cup. To French indignation, England ended both ambitions, first winning the Championship decider 21-19 at Twickenham, despite being outscored by three tries to one. In Paris England then dumped France out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals, a game which frequently erupted into violence and saw Philippe send Rob Andrew to the turf. (Jon Collins)