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Jacques Brunel (rugby union)

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Rugby player
Jacques Brunel
Brunel with Italy in 2016
Date of birth (1954-01-14) 14 January 1954 (age 70)
Place of birthCourrensan, France
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1972–1979 Auch ()
1979–1980 Grenoble ()
1980–1981 Carcassonne ()
1981–1988 Auch ()
Coaching career
Years Team
1988–1995 Auch
1995–1999 Colomiers
1999–2001 Pau
2001–2007 France (Asst.)
2007–2011 Perpignan
2011–2016 Italy
2016–2017 Bordeaux Bègles
2017–2019 France
Correct as of 28 August 2015

Jacques Brunel (born 14 January 1954) is a French rugby union coach and former player. He was most recently the French national team head coach, having previously been assistant coach for his nation and had led the Italian national team between 2011 and 2016. Brunel, who has spent most of his career in France, formally coached his former team Auch, as well as Bordeaux Bègles, Colomiers, Pau and Perpignan.

Early life and playing career

Jacques Brunel, born in Courrensan, played club rugby for his local side at age grade level, and joined the academy side at Auch in 1967 at the age of 13. Haven moved through the age grade ranks, he graduated to the club's senior side in 1972 at the age of 18. He represented the club up until 1979, playing in the French Rugby Union Championship, where for most of the time, the club failed to progress past the Pool stages. During the 1979–80 French Rugby Union Championship, Brunel played for Grenoble, where they made it to the Last 32 stage, but was beaten by Montferrand 10–3. In 1980, again Brunel only made it as far as the Last 32, with Carcassonne, being beaten by Béziers 29–6. In 1981, he returned to Auch, where he remained with the club until his retirement at the end of 1987–88 season.

Coaching career

The beginning

He started coaching immediately after he retired from playing rugby in 1988, where he became the head coach of Auch until 1995. During his time as coach at the club, he led the team to 4 Top 16 rounds, 3 of which came in consecutive years. In 1995, he arrived at Colomiers, where in just his second season in charge, he led the team to the Quarter-finals of the 1996–97 French Rugby Union Championship. During the 1997–98 season, he led the team to the Semi-final of the French Rugby Union Championship, but narrowly lost to Perpignan 15–12. However, he did oversee Colomiers first ever silverware, when they won the 1997–98 European Challenge Cup. In 1999, Brunel took the team one step forwards, leading them to the 1999 Heineken Cup Final, only to lose to Ulster 21–6.

In 1999, he moved to Pau, where during the 1999–2000 French Rugby Union Championship, they made it to the semi-final, where they lost to Brunel former club Colomiers 24–22. Pau did however, make it to the 1999–2000 European Challenge Cup final, where they beat Castres Olympique 34–21. However, in Brunel stood down from his post after his second season, following Pau's poor form, and close call with relegation. In 2001, Jacques Brunel joined the technical staff of the French national team under the guidance of Bernard Laporte, training the forwards. Under his guidance, France became known for their strong forwards work, which was a key element in their Six Nations Championship grand slam winning campaigns in 2002 and 2004. It was also a key part in France coming fourth in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and saw them through to the Semi-finals of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, which saw France beat New Zealand, 20–18, in the Quarter-finals. However, France were dominated by a strong England pack during the Semi-finals, which saw the home side lose 14–9, before being dominated again by Argentina in the Bronze final, to lose 34–10. France's form during that world cup, saw all coached lose their job with the National team.

Perpignan (2007–2011)

After the world cup, he joined Perpignan as the head coach. In his debut season, he guided the team to fourth on the table, however they lost to Clermont 21–7 in the Semi-final. Though, during the 2008–09 Top 14 season, he led the team to victory, topping the table with 92 points, 20 wins from 26 matches, and a Semi-final win over Stade Français 25–21. They then beat Clermont 22–13. Perpignan topped the table again in the 2009–10 Top 14 season, and then went on to beat Toulouse 21–13 in the Semi-final to set up a repeat of the 2009 final. However, on this occasion, Clermont won 19–6. In 2011 he left his post with Perpignan to join the Italian national team as head coach.

Italy (2011–2016)

Jacques Brunel's first match in charge of Italy came during the 2012 Six Nations Championship, which saw Italy face France in Paris. France scored 4 tries to claim a 30–12 victory in Brunel's opening match. That was followed by a narrow 15–19 loss to England in Rome and a 42–10 loss to Ireland. They went into the final week with 4 losses, however a 13–6 win over Scotland saw Italy avoid the wooden spoon. Brunel's starting pack during that Scottish game, was the most internationally experienced ever to play an international match. Brunel gained a further two victories during Italy's 2012 Summer Tour, where they beat Canada 25–16 and the United States 30–10. They did however lose to Argentina in the opening fixture of the tour, losing 37–22. During Italy's 2012 end of year tests, they came within three points of beating Australia, losing 19–22 in Florence.

During the 2013 Six Nations Championship, Italy equaled their best positioning of fourth, with wins over France and Ireland, with the Irish win the first against the team in the Championship. Due to the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, Italy joined Scotland, Samoa and South Africa in a quadrangular tournament hosted by the Springboks. Italy lost all three games, to finish last in the tournament. During the 2013 end of year tests, Italy claimed a sole win against Fiji, who was down to just 11 player at one point in the game, where Italy scored 17 points in that time, to earn a full-time score of 37–31.

Italy finished last during the 2014 Six Nations Championship, the first time since Brunel became head coach. They lost all five matches, which was followed by a Summer Tour white-wash in June later that year. They lost in consecutive week-ends to Fiji 25–14, Samoa 15–0 and Japan 26–23 - which was Italy's first ever loss to the Japanese. Their 9-match losing streak came to an end in their opening fixture of the 2014 end of year tests, beating Samoa 24–13.

In 2015, Italy finished fifth during the 2015 Six Nations Championship, with their only win coming against Scotland, winning 22–19. Though, this win was Italy's first win over Scotland in Scotland, since 2007. Italy later went down to Scotland twice during the Rugby World Cup Warm-ups, with the second test being a record defeat, 48–7. During their 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign, Italy only came away with 2 wins to finish third in their pool. They opened with a 32–10 loss to France, before narrowly beating Canada 23–18 a week later. They were massively competitive in their game against Ireland, losing by just 7 points, 16–9. Their final game came against Romania, which was a must win game for both teams if they wanted to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Italy scored 4 tries to earn a bonus point, which led them to a 32–22 win.

Bordeaux Bègles

On 14 March 2016, following the completion of his contract with Italy, Brunel announced he would become the forwards coach for Bordeaux Bègles. However, by the end of the 2015–16 Top 14 season, Brunel had been promoted to head coach of Bordeaux, with Régis Sonnes stepping down as the lead coach.

Brunel's first match in charge was a 15–9 victory over reigning champions Racing 92. Despite the good start to the season, Bordeaux only went on to win 10 games in 25 matches for the rest of the season, placing them in eleventh on the table. While in Europe, they failed to progress out of the pool stage, winning just half of their games.

Until his departure, Bordeaux put in inconsistent performances in the 2017–18 Top 14 season, winning just 7 games in the opening 13 rounds. Though this did include victories over giants Clermont, Montpellier and Toulon. Whilst in the European Challenge Cup, they had only managed to defeat Russian side Enisey-STM heading into the final two rounds. With the announcement of Brunel stepping up to lead the French national team, he coached his last game at Bordeaux on 30 December 2017, losing away to Stade Français 22–12.

France

On 27 December 2017, Brunel was named as the new coach of the French national team after Guy Novès was sacked due to a series of poor results. Brunel's first match in charge, was a last minute loss to Ireland, losing 15–13, with a drop goal from Johnny Sexton three minutes into over time during the 2018 Six Nations Championship. The following week, in what was the first ever match where the Auld Alliance Trophy was contested, Scotland claimed the victory winning 32–26. Brunel gained his first victory in round 3, defeating Italy at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, the first time France had taken a home game away from Paris during the Championship, to retain the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy. In round 4, France defeated England for the first time since 2015, running out 22–16 victors, and had it not been because of a defeat to Wales (14–13) in the final round, France could have finished second. However, their narrow loss meant they finished fourth, ahead of England and Italy in fifth and sixth. During the 2018 June rugby union tests, Brunel led France to a series whitewash against New Zealand, losing the first test 52–11, the second 26–13 and the third 49–14.

The 2018/19 International Season for France saw Brunel lead his nation to just three wins in eight matches, defeating Argentina during the 2018 November test window and Scotland and Italy during the 2019 Six Nations Championship; finishing fourth on the table. Despite this, the Championship was not without recorded for the French side, losing to Wales in the opening round after leading 16–0 at half time before going onto recording their biggest defeat to England, losing 44–8.

Coaching statistics

Italy

International matches as head coach

Note: World Rankings Column shows the World Ranking Italy was placed at on the following Monday after each of their matches.

Matches (2012–2016)
Matches Date Opposition Venue Score
(Ita.–Opponent) 		Competition Captain World Ranking
2012
1 4 February  France Stade de France, Saint-Denis 12–30 Six Nations Sergio Parisse 12th
2 11 February  England Stadio Olimpico, Rome 15–19 12th
3 25 February  Ireland Aviva Stadium, Dublin 10–42 12th
4 10 March  Wales Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 3–24 12th
5 17 March  Scotland Stadio Olimpico, Rome 13–6 11th
6 9 June  Argentina Estadio Bicentenario, San Juan 22–37 Americas tour Marco Bortolami 12th
7 15 June  Canada BMO Field, Toronto 25–16 Martin Castrogiovanni 12th
8 15 June  United States BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston 30–10 11th
9 10 November  Tonga Stadio Mario Rigamonti, Brescia 28–23 End of year tests Sergio Parisse 11th
10 17 November  New Zealand Stadio Olimpico, Rome 10–42 11th
11 24 November  Australia Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence 19–22 10th
2013
12 3 February  France Stadio Olimpico, Rome 23–18 Six Nations Sergio Parisse 9th
13 9 February  Scotland Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 10–34 11th
14 23 February  Wales Stadio Olimpico, Rome 9–26 Martin Castrogiovanni 12th
15 10 March  England Twickenham Stadium, London 11–18 Sergio Parisse 12th
16 16 March  Ireland Stadio Olimpico, Rome 22–15 12th
17 8 June  South Africa Kings Park Stadium, Durban 10–44 SA quadrangular tournament Sergio Parisse 10th
18 15 June  Samoa Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa 10–39 12th
19 22 June  Scotland Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, South Africa 29–30 12th
20 9 November  Australia Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Turin 20–50 End of year tests Sergio Parisse 11th
21 16 November  Fiji Stadio Giovanni Zini, Cremona 37–31 11th
22 23 November  Argentina Stadio Olimpico, Rome 14–19 13th
2014
23 1 February  Wales Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 15–23 Six Nations Sergio Parisse 13th
24 9 February  France Stade de France, Saint-Denis 10–30 13th
25 22 February  Scotland Stadio Olimpico, Rome 20–21 14th
26 8 March  Ireland Aviva Stadium, Dublin 7–46 Marco Bortolami 14th
27 15 March  England Stadio Olimpico, Rome 11–52 Sergio Parisse 14th
28 7 June  Fiji ANZ National Stadium, Suva 14–25 Summer tour Quintin Geldenhuys 14th
29 14 June  Samoa Apia Park, Apia 0–15 14th
30 21 June  Japan Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo 23–26 14th
31 8 November  Samoa Stadio Cino e Lillo Del Duca, Ascoli Piceno 24–13 End of year tests Sergio Parisse 14th
32 14 November  Argentina Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa 18–20 14th
33 22 November  South Africa Stadio Euganeo, Padua 6–22 14th
2015
34 7 February  Ireland Stadio Olimpico, Rome 3–26 Six Nations Sergio Parisse 14th
35 14 February  England Twickenham Stadium, London 17–47 14th
36 28 February  Scotland Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 22–19 14th
37 15 March  France Stadio Olimpico, Rome 0–29 14th
38 21 March  Wales Stadio Olimpico, Rome 20–61 15th
(Teams worst)
39 22 August  Scotland Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Turin 12–16 2015 RWC warm-ups Quintin Geldenhuys 15th
40 29 August Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 7–48 Leonardo Ghiraldini 15th
41 5 September  Wales Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 19–23 Sergio Parisse 14th
42 19 September  France Twickenham Stadium, London, England 10–32 2015 Rugby World Cup Leonardo Ghiraldini 15th
43 26 September  Canada Elland Road, Leeds, England 23–18 14th
44 4 October  Ireland Olympic Stadium, London, England 9–16 Sergio Parisse 13th
45 11 October  Romania Sandy Park, Exeter, England 32–22 Quintin Geldenhuys 12th
2016
46 6 February  France Stade de France, Saint-Denis 21–23 Six Nations Sergio Parisse 12th
47 14 February  England Stadio Olimpico, Rome 9–40 12th
48 27 February  Scotland Stadio Olimpico, Rome 20–36 14th
49 12 March  Ireland Aviva Stadium, Dublin 15–58 14th
50 19 March  Wales Principality Stadium, Cardiff 14–67 14th

Record by country

Opponent Played Won Drew Lost Win ratio (%) For Against
 Argentina 3 0 0 3 0% 54 76
 Australia 2 0 0 2 0% 39 72
 Canada 2 2 0 0 100% 48 34
 England 5 0 0 5 0% 63 176
 Fiji 2 1 0 1 50% 51 56
 France 6 1 0 5 16.67% 76 162
 Ireland 6 1 0 5 16.67% 66 203
 Japan 1 0 0 1 0% 23 26
 New Zealand 1 0 0 1 0% 10 42
 Romania 1 1 0 0 100% 32 22
 Samoa 3 1 0 2 33.33% 34 67
 Scotland 8 2 0 6 25.00% 133 210
 South Africa 2 0 0 2 0% 16 66
 Tonga 1 1 0 0 100% 28 23
 United States 1 1 0 0 100% 30 10
 Wales 6 0 0 6 0% 80 224
TOTAL 50 11 0 39 22.00% 783 1469

Honors

France

International matches as head coach

Note: World Rankings Column shows the World Ranking France was placed at on the following Monday after each of their matches

Matches (2018–2019)
Matches Date Opposition Venue Score
(Fra.–Opponent) 		Competition Captain World Ranking
2018
1 3 February  Ireland Stade de France, Saint-Denis 13–15 Six Nations Guilhem Guirado 10th
2 11 February  Scotland Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 26–32 10th
3 23 February  Italy Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 34–17 10th
4 10 March  England Stade de France, Saint-Denis 22–16 8th
5 17 March  Wales Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 13–14 Mathieu Bastareaud 8th
6 9 June  New Zealand Eden Park, Auckland 11–52 New Zealand test series 8th
7 16 June Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington 13–26 8th
8 23 June Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin 14–49 Morgan Parra 8th
9 10 November  South Africa Stade de France, Saint-Denis 26–29 Autumn internationals Guilhem Guirado 8th
10 17 November  Argentina Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq 28–13 8th
11 24 November  Fiji Stade de France, Saint-Denis 14–21 8th
2019
12 1 February  Wales Stade de France, Saint-Denis 19–24 Six Nations Guilhem Guirado 10th
13 10 February  England Twickenham Stadium, London 8–44 10th
14 23 February  Scotland Stade de France, Saint-Denis 27–10 8th
15 9 March  Ireland Aviva Stadium, Dublin 14–26 8th
16 16 March  Italy Stadio Olimpico, Rome 25–14 8th
17 17 August  Scotland Allianz Riviera, Nice 32–3 2019 RWC warm-ups Jefferson Poirot 7th
18 24 August  Scotland Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 14–17 Guilhem Guirado 8th
19 30 August  Italy Stade de France, Saint-Denis 47–19 Jefferson Poirot 8th
20 21 September  Argentina Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu 23–21 2019 Rugby World Cup Guilhem Guirado 7th
21 2 October  United States Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium, Fukuoka 33–9 Louis Picamoles 7th
22 6 October  Tonga Kumamoto Stadium, Kumamoto 23–21 Jefferson Poirot 7th
12 October  England International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama C–C – 8th
23 20 October  Wales Ōita Stadium, Ōita 19–20 Guilhem Guirado 7th
  1. Match cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis; result awarded as a nil-nil draw although the match is not included in official records.

Record by country

Opponent Played Won Drew Lost Win ratio (%) For Against
 Argentina 2 2 0 0 100% 51 34
 England 2 1 0 1 050% 30 60
 Fiji 1 0 0 1 000% 14 21
 Ireland 2 0 0 2 000% 27 41
 Italy 3 3 0 0 100% 106 50
 New Zealand 3 0 0 3 000% 38 127
 Scotland 4 2 0 2 050% 99 62
 South Africa 1 0 0 1 000% 26 29
 Tonga 1 1 0 0 100% 23 21
 United States 1 1 0 0 100% 33 9
 Wales 3 0 0 3 000% 51 58
TOTAL 23 10 0 13 043.48% 498 512

Honors

Other honours

Colomiers

Pau

Perpignan

  • Top 14
    • Winner: 2009
    • Runner-up: 2010

France (as assistant coach)

References

  1. Italie : C'est officiel pour Brunel", rugbyrama.com, 3 mai 2011. (in French)
  2. Rugby, l'Italia torna a guida francese Jacques Brunel ct al posto di Mallett (in Italian)
  3. Jacques Brunel to succeed Nick Mallett as Italy coach after World Cup (in English)
  4. "Colomiers 43-5 SU Agen". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  5. "The Fourth Heineken Cup Final". Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  6. Jacques Brunel, entraîneur adjoint
  7. New Zealand 18-20 France
  8. Perpignan strike to extend Clermont misery
  9. Clermont Auvergne taste glory at last
  10. Six Nations 2012: Italy v Scotland live
  11. South Africa to host four-team tournament
  12. Italy edge past scrappy Fiji
  13. Jacques Brunel to become Bordeaux-Begles forward coach
  14. JACQUES BRUNEL ENTRAÎNERA LES AVANTS DE L'UBB
  15. "Jacques Brunel nommé sélectionneur de l'équipe de France à la place de Guy Novès". L'Équipe (in French). 27 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.

External links

Squads
Italy squad – 2015 Rugby World Cup
Forwards
Backs
Coach: Brunel
France squad – 2019 Rugby World Cup
Forwards
Backs
Head coach: Brunel
Sporting positions
Preceded bySouth Africa Nick Mallett Italy National Rugby Union Coach
2011–2016 		Succeeded byIreland Conor O'Shea
Preceded byFrance Guy Novès French National Rugby Union Coach
2017 – 2019 		Succeeded byFrance Fabien Galthié
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