Caveman Chabal, 'monument to marketing', bows out

Last year's infamous Caveman 'ko' against Marc Giroud moment for his Lyon club as captured on YouTube.

Special correspondent in Paris

SELF-STYLED caveman Sebastien Chabal retired from rugby on Sunday, the French forward bowing out with critics split over his rugby-playing abilities but no-one in doubt over his role as a "monument to marketing".
The 36-year-old Chabal won 62 caps for France as a powerhouse lock and back row forward, winning two Grand Slams, and his last act of a 16-year career came when he turned out a final time for Lyon, his current club which he has helped seal promotion from the ProD2 to the Top 14.

Lyon beat La Rochelle 27-26 on Sunday, Chabal coming on as a substitute to rapturous applause.

Chabal was one of the best-known and best-paid rugby players in the world, his dark beard and locks catapulting him into the public eye, with a couple of notable performances on the pitch in 2007.

"I adore rugby but I'm very conscious of the efforts needed to perform at the highest level," Chabal had said when announcing he would retire earlier in the week.

Now the feared Caveman Chabal is a 'currency fairy'

FRENCHMAN Sebastien Chabal used to be one of the most feared players in world rugby. And the tough second division Lyon forward has just been handed a three-week suspension for a punch that knocked out Agen’s Marc Giroud.

But the long-haired beast hardly looks scary in his new moonlighting role off the rugby field - dressed as a fairy for an Irish peer-to-peer currency conversion company's TV advert.

The 36-year-old sneaks up on a couple looking to exchange their holiday money, before introducing himself as “a fairy... a currency fairy”.

• ‘Scary’ Caveman delivers the knockout

Happy Chabal new year - and a Pacbook out soon!

Hepi niu yia for 2008 and, before we get into things Pasifika again, I'd like to share one of my highlights of 2007 - Le Caveman versus the AB Haka on YouTube. And this was just the start of the downfall of Les Noirs at the hands of Les Bleus. I had my rugby money on Chabal and the French! A pity they didn't knock out the Poms as well the following weekend after downing England twice in warm-up matches on the eve of the World Cup in France.

For a line-up of Sebastien Chabal's greatest hits, check out The Times Online.

Caricature by Guillaume

• Chabal's greatest hits
• Chabal faces down the haka in the World Cup quarter final

Now, back to the Pacific. Keep an eye out for the new book on development communication and the Pacific media being published by AMIC in Singapore due early in 2008. Co-authors Evangelia Papoutsaki and Usha Sundar Harris. Plus many contributors - among them Ron Crocombe, Kalafi Moala, Robert Iroga, Som Prakash, Shailendra Singh, Mark Hayes, Helen Molnar ... and me, of course. Definitely a worthwhile read and some touches of controversy too. It can be ordered via New Zealand's Pacific Media Centre.

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