Following France’s Rugby World Cup exit at the hands of New Zealand on Saturday night, fly-half Frederic Michalak has retired from international rugby at 33 years-old.
BREAKING: France fly-half Frederic Michalak retires from international rugby #SSNHQ
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) October 18, 2015
Michalak started his career at home-town club Toulouse and after just a year of professional rugby under his belt, he was called up to the French national squad at just 19.
In his earlier days, he predominantly played as a scrum-half but moved to fly-half after impressing at 10 in the Top 14.
After seven years and over 100 appearances for Toulouse, Michalak moved to Natal Sharks following a very impressive showing in the 2007 World Cup. However, his time in South Africa was not as successful and he eventually returned to Toulouse the same year after making just 11 appearances for the Sharks.
In 2011, he returned to the Sharks and then moved back to France to play for Toulon in 2012, where he remains to this day.
Michalak’s international career was impeccable. He earned 77 caps for France and in their Pool D game against Canada on 1st October, he became France’s leading Rugby World Cup points scorer. He’s also France’s all-time leading points scorer with 436 points accumulated in his 14 years with the French national team.
What a career Frederic Michalak has had. After France’s hammering by New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-finals, the fly-half has called it a day with the national squad.
We wish him well with Toulon for the rest of his career!
