Raymond Gruppi (born in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, on 30 September 1937), is a French former rugby league player who played as centre and wing[2] and later was a coach.

Raymond Gruppi
Personal information
Born (1937-10-30) 30 October 1937 (age 87)
Villeneuve-sur-Lot, France
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight12 st 5 lb (78 kg)
Playing information
Positioncentre, wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1955–57 Villeneuve-sur-Lot
1957–59 Battaillon de Joinville
1959–69 Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Total 0 0 0 0 0
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1959–71 France 16 9 0 0 27
1960 Rest of the World 6 2 0 6
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1978–82 Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1985 France
Source: [1]
As of 19 November 2023

Personal life

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He is the brother of the former rugby league player Jacques Gruppi,[3] as well of the former rugby union player Pierre Gruppi. His sons are Enzo Gruppi and Thibaut Gruppi, who play for Villeneuve XIII RLLG.[4] In the civil life, outside the field, he worked as a seedsman.[2] He is also a horse trainer[5]

Biography

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He spent most of his playing career at Villeneuve-sur-Lot, playing the French Championship, which eventually ended as runner-up in 1965, and at the Lord Derby Cup a season later. With his club performances, he was called up several times for the French national team between 1959 and 1971, taking part in the 1960 and 1970 World Cups.

Later, he was appointed as coach for Villeneuve-sur-Lot[6] with new successes with the victory at the Lord Derby Cup in 1979 and in the French Championship in 1980. He was also appointed as coach for France alongside Jean Panno, debuting with a 24-16 win against Great Britain on 17 March 1985.

He was called up for the France squad at the 1960 Rugby League World Cup alongside his teammates Angélo Boldini, Jacques Dubon, André Lacaze and Jacques Merquey. Later, he was called up again to represent France at the 1970 Rugby League World Cup with his new team mates Jean-Pierre Clar, Gérard Cremoux, Daniel Pellerin and Christian Sabatié.[1]

Honours

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As player

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As coach

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Raymond Gruppi - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Vol. 41 No. 12 (June 11, 1960)". Trove. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. ^ Laborderie, Renaud de (1 January 1968). Le rugby dans le sang (in French). (Calmann-Lévy) réédition numérique FeniXX. ISBN 978-2-7062-0248-3.
  4. ^ "Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Enzo Gruppi sur les traces de Jacques et Raymond". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Raymond GRUPPI - Eleveur: Eleveur de trotteurs". www.letrot.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Raymond Gruppi se souvient de l'élève Albert". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Did not play the final due to injury.
  8. ^ Raphaël (8 April 2020). "Finale Coupe de France Lord Derby 1979 : Villeneuve XIII 15 - 5 Carcassonne". Treize Mondial (in French). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  9. ^ The final could not arrive at its end.
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