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France

Five years of results, read from this team's own point of view.

Rating

86

Elite — top 5% of the field · Glicko-2 2301 ±74

Record

44-1-14

74.6% of 59 matches in the last five years

Average margin

+12.0

34.5 for, 22.4 against

Home advantage

+4.7

Points per match better at home

Attack

+31%

34.5 scored per match, against the placed field's average

Defence

+18%

22.4 conceded per match; positive is fewer than average

About the team
Head coach
Fabien Galthié
Captain
Antoine Dupont
Union
Fédération Française de Rugby
Emblem
Gallic rooster
Home ground
Stade de France
First match
FRA 8–38 (Paris, France; 1 January 1906)
Most caps
Fabien Pelous (118)
Leading scorer
Thomas Ramos (563)
Most tries
Damian Penaud (40)
World Cups
10, from 1987
Best World Cup
Runners-up (1987, 1999, 2011)

Anthem

La MarseillaiseThe Song of Marseille

French · July 14, 1795 · 1:19

Words
French lyrics 1. Allons enfants de la Patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrivé! Contre nous de la tyrannie, L’étendard sanglant est levé! L’étendard sanglant est levé! Entendez-vous dans les campagnes Mugir ces féroces soldats? Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras Egorger nos fils et nos compagnes! CHORUS: Aux armes, citoyens! Formez vos bataillons! Marchons! marchons! Qu’un sang impur Abreuve nos sillons! 2. Que veut cette horde d’esclaves, De traîtres, de rois conjurés? Pour qui ces ignobles entraves, Ces fers dès longtemps préparés? Ces fers dès longtemps préparés? Français, pour nous, ah! quel outrage! Quels transports il doit exciter! C’est nous qu’on ose méditer De rendre à l’antique esclavage! Chorus 3. Quoi ! ces cohortes étrangères Feraient la loi dans nos foyers! Quoi ! ces phalanges mercenaires Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers! Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers! Grand Dieu ! par des mains enchaînées Nos fronts sous le joug se ploieraient! De vils despotes deviendraient Les maîtres de nos destinées! Chorus 4. Tremblez, tyrans et vous perfides, L’opprobre de tous les partis, Tremblez ! vos projets parricides Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix! Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix! Tout est soldat pour vous combattre, S’ils tombent, nos jeunes héros, La terre en produit de nouveaux, Contre vous tout prêts à se battre! Chorus 5. Français, en guerriers magnanimes, Portez ou retenez vos coups! Epargnez ces tristes victimes, A regret s’armant contre nous. A regret s’armant contre nous. Mais ces despotes sanguinaires, Mais ces complices de Bouillé, Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitié, Déchirent le sein de leur mère! Chorus 6. Amour sacré de la Patrie, Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs! Liberté, Liberté chérie, Combats avec tes défenseurs! Combats avec tes défenseurs! Sous nos drapeaux, que la victoire Accoure à tes mâles accents! Que tes ennemis expirants Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire ! Chorus 7. Nous entrerons dans la carrière Quand nos aînés n’y seront plus; Nous y trouverons leur poussière Et la trace de leurs vertus. Et la trace de leurs vertus. Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre Que de partager leur cercueil, Nous aurons le sublime orgueil De les venger ou de les suivre ! Chorus English translation 1. Arise children of the fatherland The day of glory has arrived Against us tyranny’s Bloody standard is raised The bloody standard is raised Listen to the sound in the fields The howling of these fearsome soldiers They are coming into our midst To cut the throats of your sons and consorts CHORUS: To arms citizens Form you battalions March, march Let impure blood Water our furrows 2. What do they want this horde of slaves Of traitors and conspiratorial kings? For whom these vile chains These long-prepared irons? These long-prepared irons? Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage What methods must be taken? It is we they dare plan To return to the old slavery! Chorus 3. What! These foreign cohorts! They would make laws in our courts! What! These mercenary phalanxes Would cut down our warrior sons Cut down our warrior sons Good Lord! By chained hands Our brow would yield under the yoke The vile despots would have themselves be The masters of destiny Chorus 4. Tremble, tyrants and traitors The shame of all good men Tremble! Your parricidal schemes Will receive their just reward Will receive their just reward Against you we are all soldiers If they fall, our young heros France will bear new ones Ready to join the fight against you Chorus 5. Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors Bear or hold back your blows Spare these sad victims Who with regret are taking up arms against us With regret are taking up arms against us But not these bloody despots These accomplices of Bouillé All these tigers who pitilessly Are ripping open their mothers’ breasts Chorus 6. Sacred Love for the Fatherland Lead and support our avenging arms Liberty, cherished liberty Join the struggle with your defenders Join the struggle with your defenders Under our flags, let victory Hasten to you virile force So that in death your enemies See your triumph and our glory! Chorus 7. We shall enter into the pit When our elders will no longer be there There we shall find their ashes And the mark of their virtues And the mark of their virtues We are much less jealous of surviving them Than of sharing their coffins We shall have the sublime pride Of avenging or joining them Chorus

Recording and words from nationalanthems.info, used under CC BY 4.0.

From Wikipedia, read 2026-10-19. Not an input to any forecast — the rating does not know who is coaching.

Recent results

Newest first, from France's own point of view. Home and away are as the record stores them; a fixture the record does not mark neutral is listed as one side's home, which is right for a league round and wrong for a final played at a third ground.

Shape
Matches decided by seven or fewer29%
Matches totalling 50 or more75%
Margin swing20.2 points
Last five, most recent firstwonwonlostwonlostW2

Biggest win: 96-0 v Namibia

Heaviest defeat: 17-43 v New Zealand

Where they stand (of 65 ranked teams)
Rating86
1Q1 32Med 49Q3 6492

Elite — top 5% of the field

Box is the middle half of the ranked field, line is the median, dot is France. The scale is this domain's own and does not compare across the two.

Most similar teams
Teams with too few matches to rate confidently, which are most of the outliers.

Teams that play alike sit close together. The two axes hold 72% of the variation between teams. Component 1 (42%) rises with more average margin and win rate. Component 2 (30%) rises with more high-scoring matches and margin swing.

29 of 66 teams sit too close together to name without covering another team's point, so they are drawn unlabelled. Every dot is still a link to that team, and hovering one names it.

  1. 1New Zealand0.08
  2. 2Georgia0.51
  3. 3Cayman Islands0.85
  4. 4Scotland0.93
  5. 5Sweden0.96

Distance in the projection above, nearest first.

Rugby Tournament Predictor — unofficial, and not affiliated with any union, club or competition. About and sourcesForecasts are probabilities, not predictions of one result.

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