Serge Blanco

Venezuelan-born French fullback nicknamed the 'Pelé of rugby', regarded as one of France's greatest-ever players, famous for a match-winning try against Australia at the 1987 Rugby World Cup.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on 31 August 1958, Serge Blanco moved to France as a young boy and was raised in Biarritz, signing for Biarritz Olympique in 1974, the only club he ever represented. He made his France debut in 1980 and went on to earn 93 caps, 81 of them at fullback, a record at the time of his retirement. Blanco's electrifying counter-attacking style, turning defensive situations into attacking opportunities with long, elegant runs, earned him the nickname the 'Pelé of rugby'. His most famous moment came at the 1987 Rugby World Cup semi-final, where he scored a spectacular length-of-the-field try to eliminate favourites Australia and send France into the tournament's first-ever final. Blanco won Five Nations Grand Slams with France in 1981 and 1987, and captained the side at the 1991 Rugby World Cup before retiring after a quarter-final defeat to England — the same tournament in which he had earlier instigated the move behind Philippe Saint-André's famous 1991 Twickenham try. He scored 38 tries for France, a national record that stood until 2025, and played a remarkable 93 Tests without ever appearing as a replacement. Since retiring in 1991, Blanco has had a major influence on French rugby administration, serving as a long-term president of the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, president of Biarritz Olympique, and building a substantial business empire including a clothing and hotel brand under his name.

Elegant, electrifying counter-attacking runs from deep

Widely regarded as one of the greatest fullbacks and French rugby players of all time