Serge BLANCO

Biog of Serge BLANCO :

If ever a man encapsulated French flair, Blanco was the one. He was a player from another era, a pack-a-day smoker. When he ran you were under the impression he was hardly moving, but his pace was deceptive and he was capable of attacking from the depths of his own dead-ball area. Serge Blanco would try anything. Because during this time when rugby was beginning to flirt with the rigours of professionalism, the romanticism of the beautiful game still held sway over the pragmatism that would finish by stifling creativity a few years later and Blanco, like others before him, like some of his contemporaries, but like so few after, strove to maintain France’s reputation as the scourge of the over-organised rugby practised by its Anglo-Saxon inventors.

It took a lot of guts and a fair amount of recklessness – or was it revolt? - to initiate the move from behind his own line at Twickenham on 16 March 1991 that would end 110 metres down field in the “try of the century”. This is how the English would describe the move that saw Blanco receive the ball in his own dead-ball area from Berbizier, who had just collected a missed penalty attempt by Hodgson for England. Just in front of the tryline the French fullback found Lafond, then Sella ran down the touchline before executing a scissors move with Cambérabéro. Cambérabéro chipped ahead for himself before kicking again into centre field where the young Saint-André collected and touched down under the English posts. A moment of pure magic and not one born out of desperation, as France were only trailing 3-0 at the time.

In his 93 appearances for France between 1981 and 1991 (a world record from 1988 to 1993, including 17 as captain and two Grand Slams in 1981 and 1987) Blanco was at the heart of many more magical moments, scoring 38 tries, a French record to this day, in the process. One in particular that stands out is the try in the corner during the semi-final of the inaugural World Cup against Australia (1987), finishing off another incredible move. Blanco was equally capable of performing feats of individual brilliance, as the Wallabies (yet again) can testify. On 24 June 1990 in Brisbane, the French fullback took the ball, once more behind his own line, and sprinted the length of the pitch down the touchline, juggling the ball and completely fooling David Campese and his teammates on the way. By then he had already earned his nickname, “the Pele of rugby”, after the Brazilian footballer, for his artistic talent as well as for the colour of his skin. The comparison was a good one. Blanco was born in Caracas, Venezuela, but was raised in Biarritz on the Basque coast, a region that he has never left. He spent his entire club career at Biarritz Olympique, playing in his only French Championship Final in 1992, his last official match. He was on the losing side, as he was for the 1987 World Cup Final and the quarter final of the following World Cup at the Parc des Princes in 1991. During this match, Blanco’s last in blue, the English resorted to physical assault, incapable of containing his magic in any other way.

After retiring from the game, Blanco first became a successful businessman (thalassotherapy, a sportswear brand, hotel business) before keeping a tight rein on Biarritz Olympique (1995-1998 and since 2008) and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (1998-2008) as President.