BRIEF-Rugby-France fullback Medard diagnosed with H1N1 flu

PARIS, July 3 (Reuters) - France and Toulouse fullback Maxime Medard has been diagnosed with H1N1 flu after the French team returned from a tour of New Zealand and Australia.

"Maxime Medard had a sudden rise in temperature on Wednesday after the return from Australia," French team media officer Lionel Rossigneux said in a statement. "Medical tests confirmed on Friday he had been contaminated by the H1N1 virus."

The 23-year-old Medard, who has 11 caps, is one of the most promising backs in French rugby and scored the late intercept try which helped France to defeat New Zealand 27-22 in the first test of their tour on June 13.

(Reporting by Jean-Paul Couret; Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story e-mail sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com) (jean-paul.couret@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 53 70; Reuters Messaging: jean-paul.couret.reuters.com@reuters.net; For the new Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: blogs.reuters.com/sports)

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