Imanol Harinordoquy
Encyclopedia
Imanol Harinordoquy is a French
rugby union
player who typically plays as a number 8 for Biarritz
at club level in the Top 14 and for France
internationally. Before signing with Biarritz ahead of the 2004–05 season, he played club rugby at Pau
.
Within ten years, at the highest levels, Harinordoquy won two Top 14 titles, five Six Nations
victories (2002
, 2004
, 2006
, 2007
and 2010
), which included three Grand Slam
s (2002, 2004, 2010).
, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
, Harinordoquy grew up in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port . He grew up playing many sports, among them pelota, swimming
, football
and judo
. Harinordoquy began concentrating on the sport of rugby following a knee injury at the age of 14, which limited his football development. He began his career playing for US Nafarroa and quickly advanced in the sport. While excelling at Nafarroa and later Pau, Harinordoquy represented France at under-19 and under-21 levels. He was also brought up in the family's cattle-trading business; when it came time for him to choose between the business and rugby, he opted for the latter. Harinordoquy did, however, earn a BTS in agricultural management.
in 1999 and was a part of the team the reached the semi-finals in his inaugural season with the club, which resulted in qualification to the European Cup
in the next season. After consistently appearing with the team the next two seasons, in 2002, Harinordoquy made his international debut just before his 22nd birthday in the Six Nations match against Wales
. He contributed to the team and helped France win the Grand Slam
that year. In the 2003 Rugby World Cup
, Harinordoquy was again in form, grounding tries in wins over Ireland
, Scotland
and Fiji
. Harinordoquy has been a fixture in the French side ever since, helping France to a second Six Nations Grand Slam in 2004. He was joint top try scorer with four in the 2004 edition of the Six Nations competition.
Harinordoquy entered the 2005 Six Nations
with 30 caps for France. However, he missed the competition's first fixture against Scotland
due to a separated shoulder suffered in his last game for Biarritz
before the competition. Harinordoquy, subsequently, had difficulty regaining his form immediately after the injury; he was dropped from the squad by the end of the 2005 tournament. He returned to the team ahead of the 2007 Rugby World Cup
and quickly cemented his place within the team. Harinordoquy started in France's opening match against Argentina
.
At the end of 2010, Harinordoquy made the short-list for IRB Player of the Year and was the only player from the Northern Hemisphere to do so. He ultimately lost out on the award to All Blacks
captain Richie McCaw
.
Harinordoquy was a member of the French team that finished as the runner-up
to hosts New Zealand
in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who typically plays as a number 8 for Biarritz
Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...
at club level in the Top 14 and for France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
internationally. Before signing with Biarritz ahead of the 2004–05 season, he played club rugby at Pau
Section Paloise
Section Paloise is a French rugby union club from Pau in Pyrénées-Atlantiques currently competing in Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the French league system.-History:...
.
Within ten years, at the highest levels, Harinordoquy won two Top 14 titles, five Six Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
victories (2002
2002 Six Nations Championship
The 2002 Six Nations Championship was the third series of the Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-eighth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
, 2004
2004 Six Nations Championship
The 2004 Six Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-tenth series of the northern...
, 2006
2006 Six Nations Championship
The 2006 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy...
, 2007
2007 Six Nations Championship
The 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
and 2010
2010 Six Nations Championship
The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams...
), which included three Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
s (2002, 2004, 2010).
Early life
A native of BayonneBayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the southwest of France which takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.- History :...
, Harinordoquy grew up in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port . He grew up playing many sports, among them pelota, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
and judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
. Harinordoquy began concentrating on the sport of rugby following a knee injury at the age of 14, which limited his football development. He began his career playing for US Nafarroa and quickly advanced in the sport. While excelling at Nafarroa and later Pau, Harinordoquy represented France at under-19 and under-21 levels. He was also brought up in the family's cattle-trading business; when it came time for him to choose between the business and rugby, he opted for the latter. Harinordoquy did, however, earn a BTS in agricultural management.
Career
Harinordoquy joined PauSection Paloise
Section Paloise is a French rugby union club from Pau in Pyrénées-Atlantiques currently competing in Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the French league system.-History:...
in 1999 and was a part of the team the reached the semi-finals in his inaugural season with the club, which resulted in qualification to the European Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
in the next season. After consistently appearing with the team the next two seasons, in 2002, Harinordoquy made his international debut just before his 22nd birthday in the Six Nations match against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
. He contributed to the team and helped France win the Grand Slam
Grand Slam (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
that year. In the 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
, Harinordoquy was again in form, grounding tries in wins over Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team
The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...
. Harinordoquy has been a fixture in the French side ever since, helping France to a second Six Nations Grand Slam in 2004. He was joint top try scorer with four in the 2004 edition of the Six Nations competition.
Harinordoquy entered the 2005 Six Nations
2005 Six Nations Championship
The 2005 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the sixth series of the Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy...
with 30 caps for France. However, he missed the competition's first fixture against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
due to a separated shoulder suffered in his last game for Biarritz
Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...
before the competition. Harinordoquy, subsequently, had difficulty regaining his form immediately after the injury; he was dropped from the squad by the end of the 2005 tournament. He returned to the team ahead of the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
and quickly cemented his place within the team. Harinordoquy started in France's opening match against Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
.
At the end of 2010, Harinordoquy made the short-list for IRB Player of the Year and was the only player from the Northern Hemisphere to do so. He ultimately lost out on the award to All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
captain Richie McCaw
Richie McCaw
Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw is a New Zealand rugby union player, and is the current test captain. He plays in the openside flanker position for the New Zealand, Crusaders and Canterbury rugby teams...
.
Harinordoquy was a member of the French team that finished as the runner-up
Runner-up
Runner-up is a term used to denote a participant which finishes in second place in any of a variety of competitive endeavors, most notably sporting events and beauty pageants; in the latter instance, the term is applied to more than one of the highest-ranked non-winning contestants, the...
to hosts New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final
2011 Rugby World Cup Final
The 2011 Rugby World Cup Final was a rugby union match between France and New Zealand, the final match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It was played on Sunday, 23 October 2011 at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, and was won 8–7 by New Zealand, who thus won the World Cup.The New Zealand All Blacks...
.
External links
- Website of clothing line
- Profile at sporting-heroes.net (retrieved February 7, 2005)
- 2003 story at buzzle.com (retrieved February 7, 2005)