Jean-Claude Skrela

Jean-Claude Skrela (born 1 October 1949 in Colomiers, Haute-Garonne) is a former coach of the French national rugby union team. His son, David Skrela, is a French rugby union player and his daughter, Gaëlle Skrela, is a professional basketball player.

Jean-Claude Skrela
Jean-Claude Skrela in 1971
Date of birth (1949-10-01) 1 October 1949
Place of birthColomiers, France
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight199 lb (90 kg)
Notable relative(s)David Skrela (son)
Gaëlle Skrela (daughter)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1968–1970
1970–1983		 FC Auch Gers
Stade toulousain		 ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1971–1978 France 46 24
Teams coached
Years Team
1983–1992
1994–1995
1995–1999		 Stade toulousain
US Colomiers
France
Correct as of 2019-03-27

Early life

Skrela was born in Colomiers near Toulouse in France. His parents were Polish refugees (his father came from the village Kobiela, his mother from the village Charbinowice). He lost his father when he was 12.

Playing career

He played for FC Auch and Stade toulousain and made his debut for France in 1971 against South Africa. He won forty-six caps and won the Five Nations Championship in 1973 (tie victory) and in 1977 (Grand Slam). He also scored the first four-point try in a major Test match on 20 November 1971, when he charged down a kick from Australian fullback Arthur McGill.[1]

Coaching

In 1983, he joined his team-mate Pierre Villepreux as coach of Stade toulousain. They won three times the home championship, twice against Toulon (in 1985 and in 1989) and against Agen in 1986.

He was appointed director of rugby at Colomiers in 1994 but left his position to replace Pierre Berbizier as French head coach after the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

He became the first European head coach to win on his first attempt against New Zealand, but he failed to win against South Africa and Australia like his predecessor Pierre Berbizier. France suffered a few defeats against lowest level teams, like Tonga in 1999 or like Italy in 1997 (Italy was making a lot of progress at this stage), but was also able to make great come backs, like against England in 1997 or against New Zealand in their World Cup semi final at Twickenham.[2][3] He also made a back-to-back Grand Slam in 1997 and 1998. He suffered a lack of results in 1999 before the World Cup.[4]

After Jacques Fouroux, he became the second head coach to lead France to the World Cup Final, but lost to Australia. He resigned as French head coach on 16 November 1999.[5][6]

International matches as Head coach

Record by country
Opponent Played Won Drew Lost Win ratio (%) For Against
 Argentina 8 8 0 0 100 300 159
 Australia 4 0 0 4 000 67 122
 Canada 1 1 0 0 100 33 20
 England 4 3 0 1 075 72 70
 Fiji 2 2 0 0 100 72 28
 Ireland 4 4 0 0 100 105 50
 Italy 3 2 0 1 067 96 81
 Namibia 1 1 0 0 100 47 13
 New Zealand 4 2 0 2 050 84 137
 Romania 5 5 0 0 100 268 51
 Samoa 1 1 0 0 100 39 22
 Scotland 4 2 0 2 050 134 91
 South Africa 4 0 0 4 000 66 123
 Tonga 1 0 0 1 000 16 20
 Wales 6 3 0 3 050 189 139
TOTAL 52 34 0 18 065 1588 1126

Honours

Other Honours

As a player

France

Stade toulousain

As a coach

Stade toulousain

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References
  1. First five-point try, England at Twickenham and the origins of a No.8
  2. RWC #4: France upset the odds and the All Blacks in 1999 epic - Irish Time, 15 September 2015
  3. France-Nouvelle-Zélande 1999 : dans les coulisses du "plus grand match" de l'histoire de la Coupe du monde du rugby - France Info, 17 October 2015
  4. Rugby : vous croyez que le XV de France de 2019 est le pire de l'histoire ? En 1999, ça n'était déjà pas beau à voir... - France Info, 10 February 2019
  5. Sport: Rugby Union Skrela steps down as French coach - BBC Sports, 16 November 1999
  6. Rugby. L'entraîneur du XV de France quitte ses fonctions.Jean-Claude Skrela choisit d'en rester là - Libération, 17 November 1999
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Pierre Berbizier		 France national rugby union team coach
1995–1999		 Succeeded by
Bernard Laporte
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