Thierry Dusautoir

Thierry Dusautoir ([tjɛ.ʁi dy.so.twaʁ]; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. He was called the "Dark Destroyer" during his career. Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed incredibly powerful and effective tackling. He was considered the best tackler in the world during his career.

He first played for Bordeaux-Bègles before moving to US Colomiers for one season, and then signed with Biarritz. He played in the final of the 2005-06 Heineken Cup at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which Biarritz lost to Irish team Munster 23–19. Despite losing the Heineken Cup, Biarritz did manage to win the final of the 2005-06 Top 14 40–13 against Toulouse. He was however part of the side that won the 2010 Heineken Cup final.

Dusautoir captained France to the 2011 Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand. France ended up losing by a score of 7–8. However Dusautoir was named as the Man of the Match for his performance in the final.

Dusautoir was the World Rugby Player of the Year in 2011, the second French player to win the award. He owns the record of most tackles in an international rugby game (38 tackles against New Zealand in 2007). He was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2023. Richie McCaw considered Dusautoir to be one of the toughest opponents he played against.