Morgan Parra
Encyclopedia
Morgan Parra
Morgan Parra (born 15 November 1988 in Metz
, France
) is a rugby union
player who plays as a Scrum half and occasionally Fly-half. He plays for Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14 after signing for them from Bourgoin
.
Parra plays as a Scrum half and he can also play as a Fly-half.
aged 19 as a replacement against Scotland
in the 2008 Six Nations Championship
, making his first start for France
in a defeat to England
at the Stade de France
. Parra's strength is his keen decision making and tactical game, allied with a surprising turn of pace. He is also a front-line goal-kicker, having taken on the mantle at Test level.
At club level he came to prominence with Top 14 strugglers Bourgoin
, before moving to heavyweights Clermont Auvergne in 2009 replacing stalwart Pierre Mignoni
and striking up a strong partnership with Australian fly-half Brock James
.
In 2010 Parra was instrumental in guiding France to a Six Nations
Grand Slam. He was picked partly after Julien Dupuy
who was first choice in the 2009 autumn internationals was banned for eye gouging. After being paired with the equally youthful Francois Trinh-Duc
at halfback he produced a number of masterful performances, including a rout of reigning champions Ireland
at the Stade de France.
After the Grand Slam his fame and popularity rose in France, and is popular not just at his club but a darling to the French media and public.
accurately described him as 'snarling and loud' referring to the amount of times he is seen shouting at his pack.
Morgan Parra (born 15 November 1988 in Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, France
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...
) is a 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 plays as a Scrum half and occasionally Fly-half. He plays for Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14 after signing for them from Bourgoin
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club...
.
Parra plays as a Scrum half and he can also play as a Fly-half.
Career
Parra started playing rugby aged four for Metz. He made his debut for FranceFrance 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...
aged 19 as a replacement 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...
in the 2008 Six Nations Championship
2008 Six Nations Championship
The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 114th...
, making his first start 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...
in a defeat to England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
at the Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
. Parra's strength is his keen decision making and tactical game, allied with a surprising turn of pace. He is also a front-line goal-kicker, having taken on the mantle at Test level.
At club level he came to prominence with Top 14 strugglers Bourgoin
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club...
, before moving to heavyweights Clermont Auvergne in 2009 replacing stalwart Pierre Mignoni
Pierre Mignoni
Pierre Mignoni is a retired French rugby union footballer who is currently a coach for his hometown club team, Toulon. He has also played for the France national team....
and striking up a strong partnership with Australian fly-half Brock James
Brock James
Brock James is an Australian rugby union player currently playing for French club ASM Clermont Auvergne....
.
In 2010 Parra was instrumental in guiding France to a Six Nations
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...
Grand Slam. He was picked partly after Julien Dupuy
Julien Dupuy
Julien Dupuy born 19 December 1983 is a rugby union player for Stade Français in the Top 14.Julien Dupuy plays as a Scrum-half.Julien Dupuy played for Biarritz and Toulouse in the French Top 14 for 7 seasons before joining Leicester Tigers in 2008...
who was first choice in the 2009 autumn internationals was banned for eye gouging. After being paired with the equally youthful Francois Trinh-Duc
François Trinh-Duc
François Trinh-Duc is a French rugby union player for Montpellier Hérault RC in France's top division of rugby union, the Top 14. Trinh-Duc's regular position is at fly-half or outside centre.-Biography:...
at halfback he produced a number of masterful performances, including a rout of reigning champions 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...
at the Stade de France.
After the Grand Slam his fame and popularity rose in France, and is popular not just at his club but a darling to the French media and public.
Style
Parra has excellent vision and great speed of execution, technically efficient he has a good pass on his right and left hands. He is courageous in defence. He was seen as a back up kicker but during France's Grand Slam in 2010 he took the place kicks and soon took over the duties at his club Clermont Auvergne, he had an 87% success rate from 49 kicks at goal during the 2009/10 season. He is known to be a leader of the pack and is known in France as the petit général, former France captain Lionel NalletLionel Nallet
Lionel Nallet is a French rugby union player who currently plays at lock for Racing Métro 92 in the French Top 14 club competition and is a former captain of the France national team. He began his professional career with CS Bourgoin-Jallieu, playing there from 1998 to 2003 before moving to...
accurately described him as 'snarling and loud' referring to the amount of times he is seen shouting at his pack.