Thomas Castaignède

Thomas Castaignède (born 21 January 1975) is a rugby union footballer from Mont-de-Marsan.

Thomas Castaignède

Birth name	Thomas Castaignède
Date of birth	(1975-01-21) 21 January 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth	Mont-de-Marsan, France
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	84 kg (13 st 3 lb)
Occupation(s)	Banking
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Centre, Fullback Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 0000–1993 Mont-de-Marsan () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 1993–1994 1994–1997 1997–2000 2000–2007 Mont-de-Marsan Toulouse Castres Saracens 58 (429) International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1995–2007 France 54 (252)

Born in Mont-de-Marsan, Aquitaine, Castaignède played as a junior and senior for Stade Montois in various positions, initially as fly-half or centre, and latterly as fullback. He joined Toulouse to help them win French titles in three successive seasons, and lifted the inaugural European Cup with the club. Castaignède then played for Castres Olympique before joining Saracens.

Developing his career in preparation for his retirement, Castaignède became a rugby union columnist for The Guardian, a television pundit for Canal+^[1] and occasionally ITV Sport, and started an association and occasional work with French banking group Société Générale.^[2] On 10 May 2007, despite offers to return to France with various clubs, Castaignède announced his retirement from the sport after the 2007 Rugby World Cup in September, choosing to pursue a career in banking in London.^[3]