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Christophe Dominici (Photo by David Davies – PA Images / PA Images via Getty Images)
Former French international rugby Christophe dominici he was found dead at the age of 48 in a park near Paris, police said Tuesday.
Dominici, who played 67 times for France, was seen by a witness jumping from the roof of a disused building in Saint-Cloud Park, police said.
The diminutive Dominici (weighed 1.72m and 82kg) scored 25 attempts in 67 events for France, including eight attempts in three World Cups.
He had a deceptive change of pace and a tremor that could lose and confuse defenders.
Their most celebrated moment was in the 1999 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand when their second-half attempt, catching a bouncing ball with one hand and then skidding down the left touchline, put the French ahead. when they reached the final with a remarkable Vuelve.
Dominici enjoyed a brilliant club career, first with Toulon in southeastern France, where he was born, and then at the Paris-based Stade Francais, with whom he won the French championship five times.
After his retirement, then-national coach Bernard Laporte gave Dominici a coaching role. He also worked as a media expert.
Off the field, Dominici suffered bouts of depression. In his 2007 autobiography, he admitted that a personal loss had led to depression and that he had been abused as a child.
He returned to the public eye in the summer when he spearheaded an Emirates-based bid to take over the Beziers rugby club, which sold out when a financial investigation was conducted on its viability.
The French Rugby Federation said Dominici had “left his mark on an entire generation of rugby”.
“Today, the rugby family has lost a legend and an iconic player,” he added in a statement.
