Friday, 12th October 2007 at 10:28 pm

Sebastien Chabal: rugby’s unlikely pin-up

Brian O’Driscoll would have been a strong contender, Percy Montgomery amongst the candidates, Johnny Wilkinson a strong favourite, and Frederic Michalak hot property… but instead, it’s the wild, bearded figure of Sebastien Chabal who has become the Rugby World Cup’s unlikely pin-up, the marauding French flanker attaining cult status as the tournament has unfolded.

There’s no doubting that a certain magnetism exudes from Chabal, unkempt locks flailing behind him as he buries an opponent with arguably the most brutal tackling in the game. But while that explains his appeal in rugby circles, it’s a little harder to understand just how he’s suddenly usurped the prettier backline types to become the World Cup’s definitive cover boy (a term Feverpitcher probably wouldn’t use in Monsieur Chabal’s presence).

The picture shown here does demonstrate a softer side to a man his wife insists is a gentle giant; few of his opponents would identify with that sentiment. Next on the Chabal hit list is England, and Chabal’s refusal to speak English for the last seven months suggests the English are in for the full force of Sebastien Chabal’s fury. Pin-up? Not his choice, but it’s a status he can’t seem to shake; the semifinals should also reaffirm that he’s one of the hardest men the game of rugby has seen.

• ‘The He-man who makes women swoon’