Colonial Rugby ! Noumea, New Caledonia c.1905
Colonial Rugby !
I like searching for old rugby pictures from "unusual" countries... I mean countries where you shouldn't expect rugby to be played in the early days of the XXth century... We all know that British merchants, sailors and soldiers had been playing the game almost everywhere possible, but I am always surprised to find rugby games in former French colonies (Africa, Indochina) or territories...
Here is a postcard showing a football rugby game ("une partie de football à l'Anse Vata") in Noumea, New Caledonia.
Should I recall that New Caledonia is a French Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean (cf map here, half-way from Australia, New Zealand and Fidji... Hence a natural place for rugby, even though, in fact, I am afraid that Caledonian rugby is not as developped as it could (should) be ; I am sure that French rugby could benefit from the input of Caledonian athletes if they are made from the same steel as other ruggers from the Pacific Region...
Back to my postcard (hi res picture here)... there is no date, but it comes from a postcard series issued c.1905... no indications about the players neither, even if we could think of military teams. Any hint would be welcome... !
You can see the ball (a bit fuzzy...) one meter above the head of the fullback in white... I always wonder how sports photographers were working in these early days to capture rugby action... he's almost missed the ball, but it remains a good action shot...
Anse Vata ("Vata Bay") is now part of Noumea, but in the early 1900s the place was unhabited and it only was a destination for leasure, riding and walking. A velodrome was built there as early as 1895... and cycling remains one the most popular sports in New Caledonia ! Here is the track in this other postcard from the same series (I've found this picture on the net - I don't know who to credit...)
Well ! this post is also a small tribute to the Pacific Islanders who'll be touring France next Saturday... let's hope that the game will be more attractive than this sad France v Argentina last week...
And, before leaving, what about this sunset on Vata Bay... ? New Caledonia is possibly one of the most beautiful places on Earth...
(CC BY-NC-SA imageo - Thank you)
