Pierre Faillot, RCF, "l'Autobus"

This season, I will try - from time to time - to portray one if these "rugby pioneers"... I am not a biograph, neither an historian, and my idea is primiraly to give a face to these gentlemen and recall of their contribution to the Game. For instance, most French players know about Reichel and Crabos as junior championships in France are named after them... some know or guess that they were great players and officials... but hardly none could recognize them on a picture...

Today picture shows Pierre Faillot, from Racing Club de France, a true sportsman - "athlete complet" as we say in French - who was the hero of the first victory of our Equipe de France against Scotland in 1911.

On this print, Faillot is celebrated at the same time as the 400m (flat) French champion, but also as a  long distance runner, long jump, shot putting, halterophily... Under RCF colours, he held the 300m flat (no kidding...) World Record in 1908... As an acclectic sportsman, he also played rugby for RCF and France... as a winger.

Tall, strong, fast... this gentleman was possibly more athletic than any other in the team - including forwards - hence his nickname "l'Autobus" (the Bus...)... Maybe the first "modern" winger in French rugby history (I mean  the "John Kirwan style" of players...).

He enjoyed his first cap (out of 8) in 1911  for this France v Scotland (16-15... you surely rembember...) and nearly won the game alone : two tries and a fantastic "coming out of nowhere at full speed" tackle upon opposite winger at the very last minute of the match...

As many players of this generation, WWI put a hard stop on his sporting career... and on the progresses of French national team, as the second victory of our Equipe de France only happened 9 years later, in 1920, in Dublin. French captain was then Rene Crabos... and I have all the pictures...




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