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Serge Betsen
Serge Betsen Tchoua (born 25 March 1974) is a former French rugby union player who played as a flanker for London Wasps and Biarritz at club level and for France internationally.
He is generally considered to be one of the top flankers of the professional era (post-1995) of rugby union.
Born in Kumba, Cameroon, of partial Bamileke heritage, Betsen moved to France with his mother and six siblings when he was nine, settling in the Clichy suburb of Paris. He played his first competitive rugby for the local Clichy based Club Sportif before joining the southern giants Biarritz when he was just 17.
Betsen made his first appearance for France aged 23 in 1997, as a replacement against Italy, but did not receive his second call-up until the 2000 Six Nations Championship. Thereafter he became a regular starter in the national team.
Nicknamed la Faucheuse (the Grim Reaper), Betsen was regarded as one of the fiercest tacklers in the game, and was also renowned for his high work-rate on the field.
Betsen's finest moment came during the 2002 Six Nations Championship, in the match against England, when his relentless man-marking of Jonny Wilkinson eventually resulted in the fly-half's replacement and paved the way for a 20–15 victory. Later, England's coach, Clive Woodward, said of Betsen: ""He is the only player that I can say was the single-handed reason we lost a match." France went on to win the Grand Slam and Betsen was named France's International Player of the Year. He was an automatic selection for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and scored France's only try in the semi-final loss to England.
In 2005 he was cited following an incident during Biarritz's Heineken Cup match against London Wasps in which Wasps centre Stuart Abbott suffered a broken leg; the complaint was dismissed after a disciplinary hearing found that "the trip, while intentional, was not premeditated" and had happened "in the heat of the moment".
Betsen was renowned as a fearless tackler, but with increasing age he started to pick up more frequent injuries and he missed the 2005 Autumn internationals after fracturing his cheekbone in a match against Toulouse. Despite this, he continued to be a formidable tackler: in the 2007 Six Nations Championship, which France won, he completed 56 tackles, 12 more than any other player in the tournament.
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Serge Betsen
Serge Betsen Tchoua (born 25 March 1974) is a former French rugby union player who played as a flanker for London Wasps and Biarritz at club level and for France internationally.
He is generally considered to be one of the top flankers of the professional era (post-1995) of rugby union.
Born in Kumba, Cameroon, of partial Bamileke heritage, Betsen moved to France with his mother and six siblings when he was nine, settling in the Clichy suburb of Paris. He played his first competitive rugby for the local Clichy based Club Sportif before joining the southern giants Biarritz when he was just 17.
Betsen made his first appearance for France aged 23 in 1997, as a replacement against Italy, but did not receive his second call-up until the 2000 Six Nations Championship. Thereafter he became a regular starter in the national team.
Nicknamed la Faucheuse (the Grim Reaper), Betsen was regarded as one of the fiercest tacklers in the game, and was also renowned for his high work-rate on the field.
Betsen's finest moment came during the 2002 Six Nations Championship, in the match against England, when his relentless man-marking of Jonny Wilkinson eventually resulted in the fly-half's replacement and paved the way for a 20–15 victory. Later, England's coach, Clive Woodward, said of Betsen: ""He is the only player that I can say was the single-handed reason we lost a match." France went on to win the Grand Slam and Betsen was named France's International Player of the Year. He was an automatic selection for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and scored France's only try in the semi-final loss to England.
In 2005 he was cited following an incident during Biarritz's Heineken Cup match against London Wasps in which Wasps centre Stuart Abbott suffered a broken leg; the complaint was dismissed after a disciplinary hearing found that "the trip, while intentional, was not premeditated" and had happened "in the heat of the moment".
Betsen was renowned as a fearless tackler, but with increasing age he started to pick up more frequent injuries and he missed the 2005 Autumn internationals after fracturing his cheekbone in a match against Toulouse. Despite this, he continued to be a formidable tackler: in the 2007 Six Nations Championship, which France won, he completed 56 tackles, 12 more than any other player in the tournament.
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