Jean-Pierre Rives is a French former 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 won 59 caps

Cap (sport)

In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 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...

 as a flanker

Flanker (rugby union)

A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...

. Although considered too small by some for the position, Rives displayed tremendous courage and flair, epitomising the spirit of French rugby. After retiring from the sport, Rives turned his attention to art and is currently an internationally renowned sculptor based in Paris.

Born in Toulouse

Toulouse

Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

, Rives played club rugby for TOEC, Beaumont and Stade Toulousain

Stade Toulousain

Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...

, then in 1981 he left Toulouse to join Racing Club de France

Racing Club de France

Racing Club de France can refer to:*the former name of Racing Métro rugby union club*the former name of Racing Club de Paris football club*the former name of the basketball club Paris Basket Racing, a predecessor to today's Paris-Levallois Basket...

. During his rugby career, Rives was dubbed the Casque d'or (French for "Golden helmet") due to his long blond hair. It was his hair, along with his bravery, which also brought him the nickname Asterix

Asterix

Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...

.

Rives represented France at schools, junior, university and B-level before graduating to the senior side. He captained France in 34 games, a world record at the time, and played in the teams which completed 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...

 in the (then) Five Nations Championship

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....

 in 1977 and 1981. Rives also captained the first French side to beat the 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....

 in New Zealand and was elected France's Player of the Year in 1977, 1979 and 1981.

He also played for a World XV

World XV

A World XV is a rugby union team, typically composed of invited players from various countries. Various World XVs have been arranged from time to time, often to take part in celebration and testimonial games, usually against national teams; recent World XV games have generally not been considered...

 on 9 August 1980 against in Buenos Aires, losing 36-22.

He was influential in France's bid to host 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 played a part in the trophy presentation following the tournament's final - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2007/10/21/srbate121.xml.