Former French international Christophe Dominici has been found dead at the Saint-Cloud park near Paris after a witness reported seeing a man fitting his description jumping from the roof of a disused building on Tuesday.
It was subsequently reported by local authorities that suicide was the apparent cause of death of the 67-times capped international winger, who was 48.
The diminutive Dominici scored 25 tries in a career which saw him play at three World Cups and earn a reputation as one of the premiere finishers in the northern hemisphere.
His most memorable moment in French colors came in the 1999 World Cup semi-final against the New Zealand All Blacks when he deftly controlled a ball with one hand as he raced down the left sideline with a score crucial to what would become an historic comeback.
A domestic career with Toulon and Stade Francais yielded a mammoth haul of trophies and two appearances in the European Cup Final. Dominici retired from professional rugby in 2008 after a 17-year career and moved into coaching, but would only remain under the employ of Stade Francais for a single season.
He wrote in his 2007 autobiography that he was prone to bouts of depression, admitting that he was still reeling from a tragic loss in his family several years before, while also detailing that he had been abused as a child.
The French Rugby Federation said that Dominici’s influence was such that he “left his imprint on an entire generation of rugby.
“Today, the rugby family has lost a legend and an emblematic player.”
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