Rugby-Pioneers

French rugby against racism

Tonight on French TV, there'll be a documentary about the history, role and input of Black athletes in French football (see trailer - in French - below feat. Marius Tresor, Lilian Thuram, Patrick Viera and many more...). This work aims to explain, discuss and ease the issue of racism in football... or not only in football...

When I read the news this morning, I said to myself that it would be interesting to recall that early French rugby had always welcome players from all nationalities, from all social backgrounds.. and from all colours... since the very first days of French championship back in 1892.

As a symbol, let's not forget that two Black ruggers were capped with the very first Equipe de France vs New Zealand in 1906.
Georges Jérome (left) and André Verges (right), both forwards from Stade Français, were here shot in La Vie Au Grand Air, Dec. 1905, in an article introducing the newly formed team to the public. They are also sitting 3rd and 6th in the front row of Equipe de France team picture...

I am not candid enough to ignore that the condition of Black players then got worse in rural and post-war rugby... but yet a strong message !

(here are larger pics of Jerome, Verges and 1906 Equipe de France)

Australians Ghosts...

My friend Sean in Sydney is now chasing for ghosts...

He wanted to share with us this old and unidentified photo, found with 3 or 4 newspaper cuttings of rugby matches in the very late 1890s in New South Wales...

Ethereal appearance, as Sean said...

(larger picture here)

Ô Toulouse !

I'm not going to discuss the defeat of Stade Toulousain in HCup final... the end of the season will be really tough for these guys... But let's keep with Stade Toulousain for a while, and share with you some views of this real treasure for a rugby collector... Here is a scrapbook, made by a young boy from Toulouse, which covers French rugby championship in the 20s... mostly Toulouse, but also Bayonne, Biarritz, Perpignan, RCF... or the All Blacks... mostly press clippings, and some postcards or drawings... Some larger pics on Flickr here, here or there... cool, isn't ?

Pooh - It's father's !

Initially, I was planning to write something about the H-Cup final (Go, Toulouse ! Go !) tomorrow in Cardiff... I was searching for pictures "connecting" Toulouse and Ireland... and changed my mind when I came across this picture...

Here is the boys' team of Lascaux (yes, the famous cave paintings...) in 1913... as very often, the team is a mix of all social classes... the son of farmers, the son of the butcher, the son of the teacher, etc... in a very poor rural France like Lascaux, you can immediately identify the boys who couldn't afford the "official" rugby jersey or even boots... on the opposite, you can always identify at first glance the most favoured boy ! Like in this postcard... just check the boy in the middle of the picture wearing an Irish jersey with a shamrock (yep, my connection with the HCup final...) ! he's got the nicest jersey, he owns the ball (a heavy investment indeed), he is the captain... and I'm sure that his father owns the rugby field and has paid for the posts ! I've read that story many times in old rugby books...

Am I speculating ? possibly... but it also happenend in England... as in this fine print by Fougasse in Punch Magazine, 1935...

Caption reads :
"If you do that again, you leave the field"
"Pooh ! It's father's"

Rugby + Basket Ball = Cornwall Net Ball... 1910

Another sport from the deadpool of forgotten sports... the game of Net Ball, as reported by The Boy's Own Paper in a 4 pages article in 1910, seems to be a great blend of Rugby and Basket Ball !

This article explains that this game is a modern codification of a ball game that has been played for centuries in Cornwall - called "Hurling" (though it as no affinity with the Irish game...)

Nothing to do either with Net Ball as it is played today by women... ! This Cornish Net Ball seems to be much funnier... ! nine players-a-side playing with a rugby ball on a rugby ground (physically demanding !)... running and passing only, as kicking and dribbling are forbidden... no off-side and forward passes allowed... and so are tackles, of course ! No scrums : when a player and the ball are held ("a lock") after a tackle, the forwards gather round and the referee bounces the ball on the ground midway between them... as below....

Anyone knows if this Net Ball has survived ?

You could find larger picture and the text of the article in this Flickr folder.

Edited Jan.23, 2009 : Rugby Netball of the XXIth century is here @ www.rugbynetball.com !

A perfect rugby photography, c.1925

A perfect photography... a perfect goal kick...

I am very impressed by this photography, shot in England c.1925 (Guys Hospital vs Harlequins) and published in French magazine "Le Miroir des Sports" (I don't know the exact date or year, I am afraid).

Splendid work by the photographer who managed to capture all the energy and commitment of the Guys Hospital kicker (larger pic here)... a rather unusual centring as the photographer was probably lying on the ground behind the players... great technical skills to focus on the action...

I'd want to know more about the photography and reprography techniques from this "rugby-pioneers" era... I just bought a small book (in French) about the history of photography...

Edited June 6th : Michael Perkin is indicating that the picture comes from a magazine dated November 9., 1922. Thanks Michael !

Natives vs Show-Bizz : it's a matter of tie...

 

I started to play rugby in 1986 when I was 20... At the time, French rugby was revigorated by a gang of 5 talented players from Racing Club de France, self-named the "Show-Bizz" aka Franck Mesnel, Jean-Ba Laffont, Eric Blanc, Yvon Rousset and Philippe Guillard... These gentlemen brought to the highest point the rugby values of fun, flair, friendship, eccentricity... together with performances and hard work... culminating in 1987 when Racing three-quarters played (but lost...) the final of French Championship wearing a pink bow-tie... or in 1990 sipping Champagne in crystal glasses (served by Yvon Rousset...) at half-time of their their second (and winning!) Champional final...

At the end of their "rugby years",  the "Show-bizz" five founded Eden Park, a tremendous sucess story in sportswear and fashion, which brand logo couldn't be anything else than a pink bow-tie... This 20 years adventure is commemorated in a richly illustrated book published last year, "Rugby Papillon" (on sale here ; some sample pages available).

So what ??

"Show-Bizz" and Eden Park is not exactly rugby history (yet...) ??

The point is that I was recently sorting out some pictures about the New Zealand Maori team that toured to England in 1888-1889 - please read that former post about it - and suddendly realised that some of the "Natives" were also wearing ties with their rugby kit !

I can't determine from this b&w picture if the ties were also pink (doubtful....), but I am now sure that the "Show-bizz" Racingmen have something to share with their Maoris elders !!

Let's also caption my pictures :

Portrays are W.Anderson and G.A. Williams from the New Zealand Natives team in 1888 - I have found these pictures in "Football : Rugby Union Game" by Rev. F.Marshall, published in 1892, an fantastic archive of XIXth century rugby.

Below is RCF center Eric Blanc (now RCF Manager...) during 1987 final ; credit to "Rugby Papillon"

Rugby in French army, Lyon, 1905

Rugby in the army... propagating the game in France in the early XXth century... nice scrum indeed... everybody freezing for the photographer... it could be a bit tough to distinguish the white side from... the other white side...

Caption reads : Lyon - 98e Régiment d'Infanterie - Football. - Une mélée (a scrum)

(larger picture here)

"Le Bon Point Amusant", 1922

French children magazine, 1922... colourful rugby cover to introduce an inside story called "l'As de l'Equipe" (the Ace of the Team)...

Rugby players... and football posts ! Yet another artist who didn't know much about sports...

Technorati Tags : rugby, print

Colonial rugby... China, 1929

Let's travel back to Shanghai, 1929... the golden years of International Settlement (ok, not really a colony...)

It's also my first rugby picture from China... (*)

Rugby in the Army, then, as here are the Shanghai Volunteer Corps - Scots Guards (full size pic)

Shanghai in the 20s-30s... a myth... ;-)

(c) Hergé - Tintin et le Lotus Bleu

(*) Should I consider this exotic and curious Baines card to be Chinese ?

I am back from the seaside...

I am back... I was away for a week in Britany...

Difficult to find rugby pictures with a seaside theme... here is a WW1 postcard from Belgium "une partie de football" ("a football game") showing soldiers playing on the beach (large pic on Flickr)

Yes, soccer... I am afraid... say it's also an eye blink to a recent football game with blog-friends in Paris (picture here ; I am the guy with a rugby jersey...)

So, back to work ! and I have plenty of nice new things to display in the coming days !