He was once the clean-cut, smooth-shaven golden boy of French rugby. Now Sebastien Chabal has a different look — and a new hero status.
His long straggly hair and bushy beard have brought him a new nickname, "The Caveman", and made him a pin-up — he was voted sexiest player at the World Cup.
Chabal, known also as "Atilla" and "Rasputin", has become a cult hero within the ranks of French rugby fans. At 6ft 2in and 18 stone, he shares a club and a scrum with England's new hero, Andrew Sheridan.
But if the two Sale Sharks lock horns in Paris on Saturday, it is a collision likely to be heard all the way back to the North-West.
Chabal does not seem comfortable with his new fame. A husband and father, he drives a Smart car ("They must have had the roof taken off," said one team mate) and scoffs at suggestions he is a hero with a typical Gallic shrug.
"So they (the French supporters) chant my name. So what? Let's not talk about it," he said.
His international career has been chequered and his 31 caps have been spread over seven years since he made his debut against Italy in 2000.
In his adopted corner of England, comparisons between him and another Manchester-based French icon, Eric Cantona, are common.
Both men are steeped in the traditions of the South of France. Both too, helped elevate their team's performance, Chabal being an integral part of the Sharks side that won the 2006 Guinness Premiership.
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