France national rugby union team in the context of "Fabien Galthié"

Stade de France (French pronunciation: [stad də fʁɑ̃s], lit. 'Stadium of France') is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the largest stadium in France. The architecture of the Stade de France is inspired by the Worldport of the American airline Pan American at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The stadium is used by the French national football and rugby union teams for international competitions. It is the largest in Europe for athletics events, seating 77,083 in that configuration. During other events, the stadium's running track is mostly hidden under the grandstands.

Initially built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2008 Summer Olympics failed bid the stadium's name was recommended by Michel Platini, head of the organizing committee. On 12 July 1998, France beat Brazil 3–0 in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final held at the stadium. The Stadium was a key player in the success of the city's bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games and also the Paralympics and in addition to hosting athletics and the closing ceremonies of both events. The stadium was rugby sevens venue during the Olympic Games.

The French Rugby Federation (French: Fédération Française de Rugby, pronounced [fedeʁɑsjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz də ʁyɡbi]; FFR) is the governing body for rugby union in France. It is responsible for the French national team and the Ligue nationale de rugby that administers the country's professional leagues.

The 1999 Rugby World Cup (Welsh: Cwpan Rygbi'r Byd 1999) was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professional era.

Four automatic qualification places were available for the 1999 tournament; Wales qualified automatically as hosts, and the other three places went to the top three teams from the previous World Cup in 1995: champions South Africa, runners-up New Zealand and third-placed France. 63 nations took part in the qualification process, with 14 nations progressing directly to the tournament. the remaining two qualifiers were determined by a repechage, introduced for the first time in the tournaments history. This was also the first World Cup to feature 20 teams (expanded from 16).

The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated France 8–7 in the final. The defending champions, South Africa, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals. The result marked the third time that the tournament was won by the country that hosted the event (following New Zealand in 1987 and South Africa in 1995).

It was the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 America's Cup. Overseas visitors to New Zealand for the event totalled 133,000, more than the 95,000 that the organisers expected. However, there was a drop in non-event visitors, meaning the net increase in visitors over the previous year was less than 80,000.

The England national rugby union team represents England in international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions (as well as sharing 10 victories), winning the Grand Slam 14 times and the Triple Crown 26 times, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three further occasions.

The team is run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Its history of the team extends back to 1871 when the England rugby team played their first official test match, losing 0–1 to Scotland. England dominated the early Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations Championship) which started in 1883. Following the schism of rugby football in 1895 into union and league, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. They first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, and Australia in 1909. England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. They progressed to the final in the second tournament in 1991, but lost to the eventual champions Australia. Following their Grand Slam in 2003, England went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup, defeating Australia in extra time. They contested the final again in 2007 in defence of their title but lost to South Africa. They reached the final for the fourth time in 2019, but lost to South Africa.