Described by former coach Jacques Fouroux as having the “strength of a bull but the touch of a piano player”, Phillipe Sella will be remembered as one of the greatest centres to have played the game and is assured his place in rugby history as the first to play 100 tests.
Twice a French Championship title winner with SU Agen, Sella won the first of his 111 caps in 1982. His 13-year international career coincided with a period of dominance for France, who won three Five Nations titles outright and shared three more while he was cutting a dash in midfield.
During the 1986 Five Nations, Sella became only the fourth man to score a try in every match of a single campaign. In total, he scored 30 test tries.
The longevity of Sella’s career meant he played in the first three Rugby World Cups, finishing as runner-up in 1987. Sella retired from rugby in 1998, after helping English club Saracens win the Tetley’s Bitter Cup.
Rugby: It is a game, it's about meeting people, commitment, involvement, wellbeing, joie de vivre, efforts. It is happiness, quite simply. This was part of my life and this is still the case today. Even if I am no longer involved in the game on a daily basis, the word rugby, and all that it means and implies, is still in my blood - Philippe Sella