France centre Alexandre Dumoulin has revealed that his father is former Les Bleus captain and convicted murderer Marc Cécillon.
In a sensational revelation, Dumoulin, a team-mate of Johnny Sexton’s at Racing Métro who has won two caps for Les Bleus and is in their 2015 Six Nations squad, confirmed the identity of his disgraced father to the French media this morning.
Cécillon captained France five times, won 46 caps and played at the 1991 and ’95 Rugby World Cups.
However, after his retirement the former Bourgoin cult figure descended into depression and was plagued by alcohol problems.
Planet Rugby reports: “Cécillon, who shot his wife in front of 60 people at a party in Saint Savin in 2006, was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison, reduced to 14 on appeal. He was freed on parole in July 2011. Dumoulin was raised by his mother and stepfather without knowing the identity of his biological father until he was 17, in what his agent and friend Jeremy Bouhy describes as "a happy childhood in a normal blended family, with love, friends and rugby", dismissing any idea that Dumoulin felt rejected by Cécillon.”
It also states that Dumoulin has never met him or spoken to Cécillon - through texts or emails.
"Alexander wished to speak on the subject to close any debate," said France head coach Philippe Saint-André of 25-year-old's decision to reveal the news now. "You have to respect his approach. Let him build his life, including his rugby playing career. His name is Alexandre Dumoulin."
Dumoulin révèle donc un secret que tout le rugby français connaissait dans le Midol juste avant le Tournoi #Cécillon pic.twitter.com/NvpDqDkeZ9
— JF Paturaud (@JFPaturaud) January 29, 2015