The
Ivory Coast national rugby union team, nicknamed
Les Éléphants, represents
Côte d'IvoireThe Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
(also known as Ivory Coast) in
rugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. The team is recognised as Ivory Coast by the
International Rugby BoardThe International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
. Ivory Coast participate in the annual
Africa CupThe Africa Cup is an annual rugby union tournament involving African nations, organised by the Confederation of African Rugby . The tournament was first held in 2000, and has since been contested on an annual basis...
and are considered a third tier rugby team.
Formed in 1990, the team's most significant achievement to date was their success in qualifying for the
Rugby World CupThe Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
for their first and so far only time in
1995The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
. They have not qualified since, though they did reach the semi-finals of the African qualifying competition for the
2011 Rugby World CupThe 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
, achieving a home draw against eventual qualifiers
NamibiaThe Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...
before being defeated in their away match.
Rugby union in Côte d'IvoireRugby union in Côte d'Ivoire, also known as "the Ivory Coast", is essentially amateur, with some degree of semi-professionalization in its top flight league and the national rugby union team....
is popular among school children, but the rugby union playing population in Côte d'Ivoire is still relatively small with only 14 clubs and 470 registered senior players.
History
The
Fédération Ivoirienne de RugbyFédération Ivoirienne de Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in the Ivory Coast. It was founded in 1961 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1988.-References:...
, the national rugby union federation, was formed in March 1990, the same month that it joined the
International Rugby BoardThe International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
. They qualified for the World Cup the first time in 1995 and suffered defeats by
ScotlandThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
,
FranceThe France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
and
TongaThe Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao . They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa...
.
With a small player base, and starved of strong competition, the team has deteriorated in recent years. Recent defeats to
MoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
mean they are ranked below the North African side. Their record in the World Cup has been poor, and they haven't managed a win. Their record defeat, 89-0 against
ScotlandThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
in the
1995The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
tournament, led to some questioning the presence of the minor teams at the tournament. Ivory Coast, however, played much better in the following match, losing to
FranceThe France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
by 54-18, with 2 tries scored. The final match with Tonga, lost by 29-11, in the 1995 World Cup saw a major tragedy, as
Max BritoMax Brito Max Brito Max Brito (born April 8, 1971 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast is a former rugby union player who represented the Ivory Coast at international level. As a result of injuries sustained at the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup in South Africa, he was paralyzed...
suffered a cervical spine injury that left him a
quadriplegicTetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is paralysis caused by illness or injury to a human that results in the partial or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso; paraplegia is similar but does not affect the arms...
.
After the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Ivory Coast took a three years break from international competition, only returning for the
1999 Rugby World CupThe 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
qualifyings, in September 1998. Ivory Coast was very unfortunate, losing all the three matches, to
NamibiaThe Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...
(10-22),
ZimbabweThe Zimbabwe national rugby union team is the rugby union team representing Zimbabwe. They are considered to be a third tier rugby union nation...
(0-32), and
MoroccoThe Morocco national rugby union team are a national sporting side, representing Morocco in rugby union. The team is also known as the Atlas Lions. Morocco is governed by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Rugby. Morocco competes in the Africa Cup annually. The team has won the competition in 2003...
(3-6), in a tournament held in
CasablancaCasablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
,
MoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
.
After another hiatus of two years and a half, the Elephants returned for the Africa Championship, in 2001, losing both matches with Morocco, 11-18 at home and 18-20 away, and achieving a 11-11 draw with
TunisiaThe Tunisia national rugby union team is the national team of Tunisia, a third tier rugby union nation. They first started competing in 1979 and they competed, unsuccessfully in the African qualification for the 2007 Rugby World Cup....
, abroad, and a 47-0 win at home.
Ivory Coast missed the
2003 Rugby World CupThe 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
qualification, after losses to Tunisia (8-13) and Morocco (21-23). In the
2007 Rugby World CupThe 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
qualifyings, they started promisingly with two wins with Senegal (20-6) and
ZimbabweThe Zimbabwe national rugby union team is the rugby union team representing Zimbabwe. They are considered to be a third tier rugby union nation...
(33-3), but had mixed results with Morocco, a 9-9 draw at home and a 7-23 loss abroad, and Uganda, with a 7-32 loss abroad and a 18-9 win at home, and were subsequently eliminated.
The Ivorians achieved the qualification for the final stage of the
2011 Rugby World CupThe 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
finals, after a surprising 21-9 win over
MoroccoThe Morocco national rugby union team are a national sporting side, representing Morocco in rugby union. The team is also known as the Atlas Lions. Morocco is governed by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Rugby. Morocco competes in the Africa Cup annually. The team has won the competition in 2003...
, in
CasablancaCasablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
. They faced Namibia afterwards, reaching a 13-13 draw at
AbidjanAbidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
, but losing by 14-54 in
WindhoekWindhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
, being unable to qualify once again.
Results summary
As of 8 July 2011 their record against all nations is as follows:
| Against |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
% Won |
| |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
100 |
| |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| |
13 |
2 |
10 |
1 |
15 |
| |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
25 |
| |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
66 |
| |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
63 |
| |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
50 |
| |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
100 |
| |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
50 |
| Total |
39 |
14 |
22 |
3 |
36 |
World Cup record
- 1987 - No qualifying tournament held
- 1991 - Did not qualify
- 1995 - Pool stages
- 1999 - Did not qualify
- 2003 - Did not qualify
- 2007 - Did not qualify
- 2011 - Did not qualify
Current squad
Squad for the 2011 World Cup qualifiers against
NamibiaThe Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...
. Ivory Coast squad for the Africa Cup match
MoroccoThe Morocco national rugby union team are a national sporting side, representing Morocco in rugby union. The team is also known as the Atlas Lions. Morocco is governed by the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Rugby. Morocco competes in the Africa Cup annually. The team has won the competition in 2003...
(3-60) is available here.
|
Forwards
| Player |
Position |
Club |
| Olivier Diomandé Olivier Diomandé is a French-born Ivorian rugby union player. He plays as a hooker.Diomandé played for Club Sportif Annonay , US Romans , Stade Français , RC Nîmes , Bègles-Bordeaux , Montpellier Hérault , Racing Métro 92 and RC Nîmes,...
|
Hooker |
 Racing MétroRacing Métro 92 is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. "92" is the number of Hauts-de-Seine, the département of Île-de-France, bordering Paris to the west, where they play, and whose council...
|
| Ibrahima Konate |
Hooker |
 TBO |
| Edgar Babou Edgar Babou is a Ivorian rugby union player. He plays as a prop and as a hooker.Babou is been playing in France in the most recent years...
(c)In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
|
Prop |
Gennevilliers |
| Guy-Pacome Yavo |
Prop |
 Oakville Crusaders |
| Marc Youboué |
Prop |
St Junien |
| Franck Acho |
Lock |
Poitiers Stade Poitevin Rugby is a French semi-professional rugby union team based in Poitiers. They currently play in Fédérale 1, the third division of the French rugby pyramid and the highest outside of the professional leagues....
|
| Kinafo Palo Diabaté |
Lock |
TBO |
| Claude Kouakou |
Lock |
TBO |
| Issa Meité |
Lock |
AUC |
| Gaoussou Dao |
Flanker A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
|
Drancy |
| Serge Jouve |
Flanker A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
|
BlagnacBlagnac Sporting Club Rugby is a French rugby union team that currently takes part in Fédérale 1, the top level of the country's amateur league system. The club is currently attempting to make a comeback to the professional ranks after having been relegated due to both sporting and financial issues...
|
| Daouda Koné |
Flanker A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
|
Bobigny AC Bobigny 93 Rugby is a rugby union team from Île-de-France which plays in Fédérale 1 . The club is based in Bobigny, Seine-Saint-Denis....
|
| Bakary Meité |
Number eight |
Orléans Rugby club Orléans is a semi-professional French rugby union team, from Orléans. They currently play at Fédérale 1.-German players:The club has recently provided a number of players for the Germany national rugby union team with Alexander Widiker and the brothers Guillaume and Matthieu Franke...
|
|
See also
- Fédération Ivoirienne de Rugby
Fédération Ivoirienne de Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in the Ivory Coast. It was founded in 1961 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1988.-References:...
- Rugby union in Côte d'Ivoire
Rugby union in Côte d'Ivoire, also known as "the Ivory Coast", is essentially amateur, with some degree of semi-professionalization in its top flight league and the national rugby union team....
- World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
- Côte d'Ivoire at the Rugby World Cup
The Ivory Coast's only Rugby World Cup appearance was in 1995 when they were placed in Pool D with France, Scotland and Tonga.-By position:* 1987 Rugby World Cup Not invited* 1991 Rugby World Cup Did not qualify....
External links