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