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France great Christophe Dominici dead at 48

(Photo by Neal Simpson - PA Images via Getty Images)

Former France player Christophe Dominici was reportedly found dead on Tuesday in the park of Saint-Cloud near Paris. It’s believed the 48-year-old climbed on to the roof of an abandoned park building before jumping and falling to his death.  

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The winner of 67 caps between 1998 and 2007, Dominici was one of the try-scoring France stars who shocked the world when Les Bleus knocked out the All Blacks at the semi-final stage of the 1999 World Cup.   

In a sport where professionalism increasingly put a premium on bigger, heavier players, Dominici’s Test career defied logic as he was only 5ft 8ins and weighed 82kgs. However, he played for France for more than nine years and scored 25 tries.     

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He first emerged at Toulon but it was at the multi trophy-winning Stade Francais where his reputation as a stylish finisher was sealed. 

Dominici was recently involved in an attempt by a group of Middle East investors to take over Pro D2 club Beziers, a project that was ultimately unsuccessful.

On learning of his death, the France rugby federation tweeted: “The great French rugby family is in mourning after the tragic death of our winger Christophe Dominici. We are thinking especially of his family and loved ones.”

They also shared a video of his famed 1999 try at the World Cup against the All Blacks. Dominici was also involved when France eliminated the All Blacks in the 2007 quarter-finals.

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J
JW 42 minutes ago
Let's be real about these All Blacks

I didn't really get the should tone from it, but maybe because I was just reading it as my own thoughts.


What I read it as was examples of how they played well enough in every game to be able to win it.


Yeah I dunno if Ben wouldn't see it that way (someone else would for sure need to point it out to him though), I'm more in the Ben not appreciating that those close losses werent one off scenarios camp. Sure you can look at dubious decisions causing them to have to play with 14 or 13 men at the death as viable reasons but even in the games they won without such difficulties they made a real struggle of it (compared to how good some of their first half play was). This kind of article where you trying to point out the 3 losses really would most likely have been wins only really makes sense/works when your other performances make those 3 games (or endings) stand out.


There might have been a sentence here and there to ensure some good comment numbers but when he's signing off the article by saying things like ..

Whilst these All Blacks aren’t blowing teams off the park like during the 2010s, they are nuggety and resourceful and don’t wilt. They are prepared to win the hard way, accumulating points by any means necessary.

and..

The other top sides in the world struggled to put them away. France and South Africa both could have well been defeated on home soil.

I don't really see it. Always making sure people are upto date with the SH standing/perspective! NZ went through some tough times with so many different perspectives and reasons why, but then it was.. amusing how.. behind everyone was once they turned a corner. More of these 'unfortunate' results returned against SA and France at the start of the RWC which made it extra tasty to catch other teams out when they did bring it. So that created some 'conscious' perspective that I just kept going and sharing re thoughts on similar predicaments of other teams, I had been really confident that Wallabies displays vs NZ were real, that the Argentines can backup their thing against Aus and SA (and so obviously the rest), and current one is that England are actually consistent and improving with their attack (which everyone should get onboard with), and I'm expecting a more dominant display against Japan (even though they should have more of their experienced internationals for this one) that highlights further growth from July. 👍

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