François Trinh-Duc

François Trinh-Duc (; born 11 November 1986) is a former French rugby union player. Trinh-Duc's regular position was as a fly-half or inside centre.

Early life Trinh-Duc was born in Montpellier.

Trinh-Duc started playing rugby at the age of 4 at the Pic-Saint-Loup rugby school near his native city. There, he played with his future Montpellier team-mate Fulgence Ouedraogo.

Rugby career With fellow Montpelliérains Louis Picamoles and Julien Tomas, who are part of the Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club's, attempted "shaking up the old order" of French rugby in the Septimanie terroir which had been a historical rival Béziers's stronghold.

Trinh-Duc was called up by Marc Lièvremont to the France squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship, and has played in all of France's matches in the competition to date.

Trinh-Duc's drop goal helped France beat England 19–12 at Eden Park in quarter-final in 2011 Rugby World Cup. He came on as a substitute for the injured Morgan Parra in the 23rd minute of the final against New Zealand. He set in motion the move that led to Thierry Dusautoir's try in the 47th minute and converted the try to make the score 8–7. With 15 minutes remaining and the score still at 8–7, France were awarded a penalty to put them in front for the first time, but Trinh-Duc's 48m penalty attempt was wide off the mark and the All Blacks went on to win the final.

On 19 March 2021, Trinh Duc left Racing 92 for Top 14 rivals Bordeaux from the 2021–22 season.

Personal life François Trinh-Duc (, ) was noted as one of the first ever rugby players of Vietnamese heritage to play for the French national side. His paternal grandfather, Trịnh Đức Nhiên, was born in French Indochina. He was drafted in compulsory labor service during the Second World War and arrived in France in April 1940. He then settled in Agen in Lot-et-Garonne. Nhiên later married an Italian-Argentine woman who birthed Philippe, Trinh-Duc's father.

International tries Date Venue Opponent Result (France-...) Competition 1. 5 July 2008 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia Test Match 2. 21 March 2009 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France Six Nations Championship 3. 13 June 2009 Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand Test Match 4. 21 November 2009 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France Test Match 5. 21 November 2009 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France Test Match 6. 26 February 2010 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales Six Nations Championship 7. 20 August 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland Test Match 8. 10 September 2011 North Harbour Stadium, North Shore City, New Zealand 2011 Rugby World Cup 9. 24 September 2011 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand 2011 Rugby World Cup

Footnotes