Thierry Dusautoir ([tjɛ.ʁidy.so.twaʁ]; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition.[2] He was called the "Dark Destroyer" during his career.[3] Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed incredibly powerful and effective tackling. He was considered the best tackler in the world during his career.[4]
Dusautoir captained France to the 2011 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand. France ended up losing by a score of 7–8. However Dusautoir was named as the Man of the Match for his performance in the final.[6]
Dusautoir was the World Rugby Player of the Year in 2011, the second French player to win the award. He owns the record of most tackles in an international rugby game (38 tackles against New Zealand in 2007).[3] He was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2023. Richie McCaw considered Dusautoir to be one of the toughest opponents he played against.[7]
International career
Dusautoir was called up into the French squad for tests during June 2006 against Romania and the Springboks.
He made his debut for France in a test against Romania on 17 June 2006 at Cotroceni Stadium in Bucharest, Romania, which saw France defeat the Romanians 62–14 and Dusautoir scoring a try on his debut. He played in the subsequent match against the Springboks at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town with France again emerging as the victors. He left Biarritz and signed for Toulouse in 2006.[8]
He is perhaps most famous for his try against New Zealand in the quarter-final of the 2007 World Cup in Cardiff in which he famously made 38 tackles, two more than the entire All Blacks side. His second-half score helped France to a 20–18 victory over the tournament favourites, despite the fact that he was not in the original 30-man squad and was only called up as a replacement for the injured Elvis Vermeulen. He also captained France to a famous 27–22 win over New Zealand in Dunedin on 13 June 2009. He was linked with Leinster Rugby where he would have replaced Rocky Elsom.[citation needed]
2011 Rugby World Cup
Dusautoir captained France to the 2011 Rugby World Cup final against the hosts New Zealand, in which he scored France's only try (one of two for the entire game) in the 47th minute (New Zealand's Tony Woodcock scoring the other for the All Blacks) and made 22 tackles, for which he received the Man of the Match award. On the night of the final, one could hear chants of "Dusautoir" coming from the many bars showing the game around the Auckland waterfront.[9]
He was named the 2011 IRB International Player of the Year, thus becoming the second player from France to win the award after former captain Fabien Galthié in 2002. Dusautoir won the award over players such as Jerome Kaino and Ma'a Nonu.[10][11][12]
In an interview on Total Rugby in July 2012, Dusautoir spoke about a perceived lack of respect towards his team during the 2011 World Cup.[13] He cited a particular picture from the New Zealand Herald in the week leading up to the final which showed Sonny Bill Williams and Israel Dagg laughing during training, with the caption '80 minutes before laughing'.[13] Dusautoir also shared about how France's uncomplicated game plan in the final nearly resulted in a memorable upset:
Our strategy in that match was to resist as long as possible. Having seen the way we were playing throughout the tournament we were aware that we were not at the same level as the All Blacks. That was pretty obvious. But by this time we were sure we were mentally prepared and we were ready to make the most of the opportunity... During the match we played well but we would have liked to have scored a drop goal on top of the great defence we produced. But we played an uncomplicated game and that is ultimately how we managed to surprise them so much.[13]
On 21 October 2012, in a Heineken Cup match against Treviso, Dusautoir twisted his knee in a tackle, suffering a twisted lateral ligament with a slight tear. The injury is expected to sideline him for four to six weeks, meaning that he would miss the 2012 November Tests.[14]
On 11 January 2013, Dusautoir was named in the initial training squad for the 2013 Six Nations Championship, but Saint-André decided to retain Pascal Papé as captain in order to give Dusautoir time to ease his way back into the international team.[15]
Dusautoir lead France to the knockout rounds of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, where they played against New Zealand in the quarter-finals, losing 62–13. Dusautoir announced his retirement from international rugby following the tournament.
He is the second French captain after Fabien Pelous to have beaten Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Dusautoir was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He has a French father and Ivorian mother. He did not take up rugby until he was 16; before that, his favourite sport was judo, which he almost chose as his career, having done it for 13 years and becoming a double brown belt, before switching to rugby.[16][17]
