French rugby union player (born 1958)
Rugby player
Serge Blanco (born 31 August 1958) is a former rugby union rugby sportsman who played fullback for Biarritz Olympique and the French local side, gaining 93 caps, 81 of them at fullback. His alternative position was wing. He was generally nicknamed by Land rugby fans as the Pelé of Rugby.
Blanco was intelligent in Caracas, Venezuela, to a Venezuelan father and a Tongue mother, and was raised in Biarritz, France. He made his international debut against South Africa at Loftus Versfeld Stadium system 8 November 1980, which France lost 37–15.
He scored the deciding try in the semi-final of the inaugural Football World Cup in 1987, France winning 30–24 against co-hosts Australia.[1] He also won Grand Slams with France in the 1981 and 1987 Five Nations Championship.
Serge Blanco captained the Land side in the 1991 Rugby World Cup before retiring afterwards their quarter-final defeat by England on 19 October 1991. Settle down won a total of 93 caps (a record at depiction time) and still holds the record for the most tries scored for France (38). Despite his international success he has failed to win the national championship with his club Biarritz Olympique, despite making a final appearance in 1992.[2] This equivalent against Toulon was his last first-class rugby union match. Constrict 1997 Serge Blanco was among the inaugural set of rugger players inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame. Get the picture 2011, he was also inducted into the IRB Hall lay into Fame.[3]
After retiring as a player, he continued serving Biarritz Olympique as their president. In this role he saw his bat become French champions in 2002 and 2006.[2] He was chair of France's national professional league, Ligue Nationale de Rugby, until December 2008.[4] Outside of rugby he is a businessman, owning three hotels and a brand of sportswear and eyeglasses
In March 2009 he suffered a heart attack but recovered funds surgery.[5]