François Trinh-Duc

François Trinh-Duc (French: [fʁɑ̃swa tʁɛ̃dyk]; born 11 November 1986) is a former French rugby union player. Trinh-Duc's regular position was as a fly-half or inside centre.

François Trinh-Duc

Birth name	François Trinh-Duc
Date of birth	(1986-11-11) 11 November 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Montpellier, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	85 kg (13 st 5 lb; 187 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Centre Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Pic-Saint-Loup () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2004–2016 Montpellier 201 (607) 2016–2019 Toulon 61 (301) 2019–2021 Racing 92 30 (46) 2021–2022 Bordeaux Bègles 26 (81) International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2008–2018 France 66 (93)
Medal record Men's Rugby union Representing  France Rugby World Cup 2011 New Zealand Squad

Early life

Trinh-Duc was born in Montpellier.

Trinh-Duc started playing rugby at the age of 4 at the Pic-Saint-Loup rugby school near his native city.^[1] There, he played with his future Montpellier team-mate Fulgence Ouedraogo.

Rugby career

With fellow Montpelliérains Louis Picamoles and Julien Tomas, they are part of a quartet of home-grown talents embodying the success of the Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club's attempt at "shaking up the old order" of French rugby in the Septimanie terroir which had always been historical rival Béziers's stronghold.^[2]

Trinh-Duc was called up by Marc Lièvremont to the France squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship,^[3] and has played in all of France's matches in the competition to date.

Trinh-Duc's drop goal helped France beat England 19–12 at Eden Park^[4] in quarter-final in 2011 Rugby World Cup. He came on as a substitute for the injured Morgan Parra in the 23rd minute of the final against New Zealand. He set in motion the move that led to Thierry Dusautoir's try in the 47th minute and converted the try to make the score 8–7. With 15 minutes remaining and the score still at 8–7, France were awarded a penalty to put them in front for the first time, but Trinh-Duc's 48m penalty attempt was wide off the mark and the All Blacks went on to win the final.^[5]

On 19 March 2021, Trinh Duc left Racing 92 for Top 14 rivals Bordeaux from the 2021–22 season.^[6]

Personal life

Trinh-Duc (Vietnamese: Trịnh Đức, IPA: [ʈʂɨ̂ɲˀ ɗɨ̌k]) was noted as one of the first ever rugby players of Vietnamese origin to play for the French national side.^[7][8] His paternal grandfather, Trịnh Đức Nhiên, was born in French Indochina,^[9] migrated to France during the Second World War right after the Liberation of France, and settled near Agen in Lot-et-Garonne. Nhien later married an Italian woman; Trinh-Duc's father, Philippe, being the result of this union.^{[10][fn 1]}

International tries

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result (France-...)	Competition
1.	5 July 2008	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia	Australia	10–40	Test Match
2.	21 March 2009	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Italy	50–8	Six Nations Championship
3.	13 June 2009	Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand	New Zealand	27–22	Test Match
4.	21 November 2009	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Samoa	43–5	Test Match
5.	21 November 2009	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Samoa	43–5	Test Match
6.	26 February 2010	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	26–20	Six Nations Championship
7.	20 August 2011	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	Ireland	26–22	Test Match
8.	10 September 2011	North Harbour Stadium, North Shore City, New Zealand	Japan	47–21	2011 Rugby World Cup
9.	24 September 2011	Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand	New Zealand	17–37	2011 Rugby World Cup

Footnotes

1. Photograph of Trinh Duc Nhien, from travailleurs-indochinois.org (see list for "Trinh Duc Nhien": la liste du memorial