Roland Bertranne, who has died aged 75, held the French rugby union record for most international caps – 69 – until Serge Blanco overtook him in 1989, and he was a key member of the thrilling France team that won the Five Nations Championship and Grand Slam in 1977 with the same 15 players throughout the tournament.
He was there again in 1981 when they won their next Five Nations – and another Grand Slam – in 1981, and his run of 46 consecutive appearances in the side between 1973 and 1979 has still not been bettered.
Though never one of France’s most celebrated players, Bertranne was a much-admired and supremely dependable centre who scored 17 tries in internationals but was especially known for his fierce tackling.
At 5ft 7in and nicknamed “Le petit taureau furieux” (the furious little bull), he was fond of saying that “size is one thing, desire is another,” and he was described by his captain Jean-Pierre Rives as a back who played “with the mentality of a forward”, never giving any quarter no matter who was charging towards him. Keeping it simple, he rarely played a bad game for his country, and his reliability, as well as an unselfish commitment to the team, was at the root of his longevity.
Roland Bertranne was born on December 6 1949 in the village of Ibos, a rugby union stronghold in the Hautes-Pyrénées region of the south-west of France. He began his playing career at the Stade Bagnérais club in the nearby town of Bagnères-de-Bigorre, and stayed there for the duration, apart from one season at Toulon.
Bertranne takes off with the ball, supported by Roger Bourgarel, in France’s 9-5 Five Nations defeat to Wales in 1971 at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes – Universal/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
His international debut came at 21 against England at Twickenham in France’s third game of the 1971 Five Nations, a 14-14 draw in which he scored a try. He also played in the final match of that championship, against Wales, followed by an 8-8 draw against South Africa in Durban and an 11-13 home defeat to Australia.
In 1973 he was in the France side that beat New Zealand 13-6 in Paris, and then began his phenomenal near six-year unbroken selection run, which began on October 27 of that year against Japan in Bordeaux and ended on March 17 1979 against Scotland in Paris. It was during the second half of that long sequence that he played such an important part in France winning the 1977 Grand Slam. With his tackling to the fore, they beat all-comers without conceding a try throughout the championship.
By the time France next took the Five Nations four years later, Bertranne was 31 and moving towards the end of his career. But again he played in all the matches as his side dominated with an irresistible squad featuring Blanco, Rives, Pierre Berbizier, Guy Laporte and Robert Paparemborde.
Bertranne, left, and his France teammate Guy Laporte, at a training session in 1981 – GEORGES BENDRIHEM/AFP via Getty Images
He won his 64th cap during that championship, overtaking the previous record holder, Benoît Dauga, in the process, before deciding to end his international career later in the year after a final appearance against New Zealand, in Paris. He finished his club rugby in 1983, having captained Stade Bagnérais to the final of the French championship twice, in 1979 and 1981, a remarkable achievement for such an under-resourced club.
In 1982 Bertranne drove in the Paris-Dakar Rally, finishing sixth, and when his rugby days were over he took a great interest in motorsport, notably as a committee member of the Armagnac Bigorre automobile club. In 1989 he was appointed to France rugby’s selection committee and was later a coach with the national side. He was also an honorary president of Stade Bagnérais, and in 2022 the rugby ground in Ibos was named in his honour.
Roland Bertranne, born December 6 1949, died October 2 2025
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