The 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand was the first ever tour of Australasia by any French sports team in history. Puig Aubert captained the France national rugby league team who played 28 matches in total in both Australia and New Zealand, winning 21 of them in what is regarded as the high point in the history of rugby league in France. The Australian Test series resulted in a 2–1 victory to France; however, the tourists then lost their match against the New Zealand national rugby league team. Welcoming the team home to Marseille, more than 150,000 people turned out for a street parade.
Touring squad
The French side was coached by former internationals Robert Samatan and Jean Duhau, and was captained by Puig Aubert. France had just claimed the 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship before embarking on the tour. The squad's average age was 26.5 years. The backs' average weight was while the forwards' was . Claude Teisseire, half back for Carcassonne and Lucien Barris, a forward, were initially selected in the squad but did not tour. The Rugby League News published Player Details (Position, Occupation, Age, Height and Weight).
Player Age Weight Club TestsonTour GamesinAus GamesinNZ Tries Goals FG Points Maurice Andre 29 11 st. 11 lb. (75 kg) Marseille 0 10 10 0 0 30 Jean Audoubert 27 14 st. 8 lb. (93 kg) Lyon 0 11 4 0 0 12 Paul Bartoletti 27 13 st. 5 lb. (85 kg) Carcassonne 4 10 2 1 0 8 Maurice Bellan 26 11 st. 0 lb. (70 kg) Lyon 0 10 3 0 0 9 Andre Beraud 28 13 st. 12 lb. (88 kg) Marseille 0 13 12 0 0 36 Élie Brousse 29 15 st. 1 lb. (96 kg) Lyon 4 12 9 0 0 27 Robert Caillou 33 11 st. 9 lb. (74 kg) Bayonne 0 10 7 12 0 45 Gaston Calixte 27 13 st. 10 lb. (87 kg) Villeneuve 1 7 1 2 0 7 Vincent Cantoni 24 12 st. 3 lb. (78 kg) Bordeaux 4 12 17 2 0 55 Gaston Comes 27 11 st. 11 lb. (75 kg) Perpignan 4 10 7 10 0 41 Raymond Contrastin 26 12 st. 1 lb. (77 kg) Bordeaux 4 14 12 1 0 38 Joseph Crespo 26 11 st. 4 lb. (72 kg) Lyon 3 11 11 0 0 33 Guy Delaye 21 14 st. 4 lb. (91 kg) Marseille 0 7 2 0 0 6 Jean Dop 27 11 st. 11 lb. (75 kg) Marseille 2 12 3 0 0 9 René Duffort Utility Back 27 13 st. 5 lb. (85 kg) Lyon 4 11 1 0 0 3 Charles Galaup 22 11 st. 8 lb. (73 kg) Albi 1 11 3 0 0 9 Gabriel Genoud 28 12 st. 8 lb. (80 kg) Villeneuve 3 8 3 0 0 9 Ode Lespes 27 12 st. 10 lb. (81 kg) Bordeaux 0 10 4 0 0 12 Michel Lopez 30 16 st. 0 lb. (102 kg) Cavaillon 0 9 4 6 0 24 Martin Martin 28 12 st. 12 lb. (82 kg) Carcassonne 1 7 5 0 0 15 Louis Mazon 29 13 st. 7 lb. (86 kg) Carcassonne 4 10 1 2 0 7 Jacky Merquey 21 11 st. 0 lb. (70 kg) Marseille 4 10 2 0 0 6 François Montrucolis 26 14 st. 2 lb. (90 kg) Lyon 1 9 2 0 0 6 Raoul Perez 28 14 st. 10 lb. (93 kg) Toulon 0 3 1 0 0 3 Édouard Ponsinet 27 14 st. 6 lb. (92 kg) Carcassonne 4 11 3 0 0 9 Puig Aubert 23 11 st. 0 lb. (70 kg) Carcassonne 4 17 8 106 0 236 François Rinaldi 27 13 st. 7 lb. (86 kg) Marseille 0 8 3 0 0 9
France's captain Puig Aubert had been offered a large contract to play in Sydney but returned to his homeland where he was voted French sportsman of the year.
Australian leg The tour's Australian leg featured games played in every mainland State capital except Adelaide, drawing a total of over 450,000 spectators.
Monaro: FB: Max Preston (age 20) ( Queanbeyan), WG: Don Stewart (24) ( Bombala), CE: Doug McRitchie (27) (, Queanbeyan), CE: Tom Hodges (21) (Adaminaby), WG: Terry Fogarty ( Goulburn), FE: P. Schumack (19) (Bega), HB: Ken Brogan (c) (24) ( Cooma), PR: Ted Schell (19) ( Norths), HK: Ken Fogarty (22) ( Goulburn), PR: K. Barber (21) (Bega), SR: Bruce Grant (21) ( Eden), SR: Bob Alexander (26) ( Canberra), LK: Pat Rankin (20) ( Norths). Jack Melville ( Captain's Flat) was selected as a reserve, but did not play. Jack Southwell (25) ( Canberra) was selected, but withdrew due to injury. France: Puig Aubert, Ode Lespes, Gaston Comes, Maurice Andre, Raymond Contrastin, Robert Caillou, Jean Dop, Paul Bartoletti, Gabriel Genoud, Andre Beraud, Michel Lopez, Élie Brousse, Gaston Calixte The Daily Telegraph included a match report from France's tour manager, Antoine Blain, as well as their chief football writer.
Newcastle: FB: Les Milne (age 23) ( Maitland), WG: Jack Bradley (19) ( Souths), CE: Rees Duncan (20) ( Kurri), CE: Frank Threlfo (19) ( Maitland), WG: Brian Carlson (17) ( Norths), FE: Les Brown (27) ( Maitland), HB: Eric Long (23) ( Norths), PR: Charlie Gill (c) (29) ( Norths), HK: Jack Gordon (22) ( Waratah Mayfield), PR: Jim Evans (22) ( Maitland), SR: Albert Paul (23) ( Lakes United), SR: Don Schofield (20) ( Cessnock), LK: Ben Haslam (23) ( Centrals). Coach: Col Maxwell ( Maitland). Two players were selected as reserves, but did not play: Barry Redding (23) ( Norths) and Pat Donnelly (21) ( Souths). Newcastle played in red jerseys with a black V, rather than their traditional blue, to avoid a clash with the French jumpers. France: Maurice Andre, Raymond Contrastin, Jacques Merquey, Gaston Comes, Vincent Cantoni, Maurice Bellan, Robert Caillou (c), Francois Rinaldi, Jean Audobert, Louis Mazon, François Montrucolis, Guy Delaye, Raoul Perez
Western Districts: FB: Oriel Kennerson ( Bathurst Charlestons), WG: Norm Jacobson (c) ( Condobolin), CE: Leo Nosworthy ( Narromine), CE: Jack Birney ( Coolah), WG: Max Smith ( Wellington), FE: Rolf Trudgett ( Wellington), HB: William Kelly ( Lithgow Arms Factory), PR: J. West (Orange), HK: Ian Walsh ( Condobolin), PR: Frank Hogan (Mendooran), SR: Len Kable ( Coonabarabran), SR: Ron Kelly ( Forbes), LK: Ken Slattery ( Canowindra), Coach: Les Lay ( Wellington). Two players were selected as reserves, but did not play: John George ( Wellington) and W. Neil ( Cobar).
France: Puig Aubert (c), Raymond Contrastin, Ode Lespes, Maurice Bellan, Maurice Andre, Rene Duffort, Jean Dop, Francois Rinaldi, Jean Audobert, Andre Beraud, Michel Lopez, Édouard Ponsinet, François Montrucolis
Sydney: FB: Clive Churchill (c) (age 24) ( Souths), WG: Johnny Bliss (29) ( Manly), CE: Ray Thomas ( Easts), CE: Gordon Willoughby (24) ( Manly), WG: Johnny Graves (24) ( Souths), FE: Frank Stanmore (21) ( Wests), HB: Keith Holman (23) ( Wests), PR: Denis Donoghue (23) ( Souths), HK: Kevin Schubert (23) ( Manly), PR: Jack Holland (27) ( St George), SR: Bernie Purcell (23) ( Souths), SR: Noel Mulligan (25) ( St George), LK: Les Cowie (26) ( Souths). Johnny Hawke (26) ( St George) was initially selected but withdrew, his place being taken by Thomas. Noel Pidding (24) ( St George) and Charlie Banks (24) ( Easts) were named as reserves, but did not play.
France: Puig Aubert (c), Raymond Contrastin, Jacques Merquey, Gaston Comes, Vincent Cantoni, Rene Duffort, Joseph Crespo, Paul Bartoletti, Gabriel Genoud, Louis Mazon, Édouard Ponsinet, Élie Brousse, Gaston Calixte
Riverina: FB: Les Koch ( Gundagai), WG: Neil Kingsmill ( Albury Blues), CE: Bruce (Powderly, Powderley) Powdery (Boorowa), CE: Noel Bruce ( Junee), WG: John Biscaya ( Lockhart), FE: Rowley (Roley) McDonnell ( Cootamundra), HB: John Scott ( Young), PR: Don Milton ( Temora), HK: Peter Coupland ( Albury Blues), PR: Nevyl Hand (c) ( Gundagai), SR: Doug Piper ( Young), SR: Ray Green ( Cowra), LK: Peter O'Connor ( Harden). Two players were selected as reserves, but did not play: J. (Buster) Harvey ( Young), Alan Glover (Boorowa).
France: Puig Aubert, Maurice Andre, Maurice Bellan, Jacques Merquey, Ode Lespes, Robert Caillou (c), Jean Dop, Francois Rinaldi, Jean Audobert, Andre Beraud, Guy Delaye, Michel Lopez, François Montrucolis
1st Test After five matches against New South Welsh teams, the French side played the tour's first Test match against Australia in Sydney. The two countries had played four Tests against each other previously, with Australia winning all of them.
AustraliaPosit.France Clive Churchill (c)FB Puig Aubert (c)2. Johnny BlissWG5. Vincent Cantoni3. Gordon WilloughbyCE3. Gaston Comes4. Noel HazzardCE4. Joseph Crespo5. Johnny GravesWG15. Raymond Contrastin6. Frank StanmoreFE6. Charles Galaup7. Keith HolmanHB7. Jean Dop13. Duncan HallPR23. Paul Bartoletti12. Kevin SchubertHK25. Gabriel Genoud11. Denis DonoghuePR8. Louis Mazon10. Brian DaviesSR11. Elie Brousse9. Harold CrockerSR12. Edouard Ponsinet8. Noel MulliganLK14. Rene DuffortVic HeyCoachBob Samatan All of the French players selected for the Test had played in at least one tour match so far except their five-eighth, Charles Galaup who had only recently arrived in the country. The Australian team featured nine players from the Sydney team that drew with France nine days prior, in addition to four Queenslanders.
Puig-Aubert opened the scoring with a Penalty kick. At one point France led 16–0, but Australia came back, starting with a penalty kick by Graves. The half time score was 16–2.
Australia came back strongly in the second half. However, the game ended with the French celebrating their first ever rugby league victory against Australia. France's captain Puig Aubert was presented the Commonwealth Jubilee Cup after the match by the Governor General of Australia, William McKell.
Northern Division: FB: Ken McCrohon ( Armidale), WG: Morrie Murphy ( Inverell), CE: Norman Young ( West Tamworth), CE: Jack Goldman ( Uralla), WG: N. (Coogan) Thornton ( Uralla), FE: Ron Madden ( Inverell), HB: Eric Fraser ( Moree), PR: B. Carlton ( Walcha), HK: Alf Hardman ( Moree), PR: Arthur Henderson ( Moree), SR: Les Gilmore ( Scone), SR: Barry Jackson ( Moree), LK: Cecil Bull ( Manilla). Four players were selected as reserves, but did not play: P. Starr ( Guyra), Trevor Hong ( Armidale), R. Partridge ( West Tamworth), Neville Harrison ( Scone).
France: FB: Maurice Andre, WG: Ode Lespes, CE: Robert Caillou, CE: Joseph Crespo, WG: Maurice Bellan, FE: Charles Galaup, HB: Jean Dop, PR: François Rinaldi, HK: Jean Audoubert, PR: Andre Beraud, SR: Michel Lopez, SR: Guy Delaye, LK: Élie Brousse.
Queensland: FB: Nev Linde (age 24) ( Tivoli), WG: Denis Flannery (22) ( Ipswich CYM), CE: Noel Hazzard (26) (Bundaberg), CE: Rex McGlynn (24) (Bundaberg), WG: Des McGovern (25) ( Toowoomba All Whites), FE: Harry Griffiths (25) ( Booval Swifts), HB: Ken McCaffery (21) ( Toowoomba Souths), PR: Duncan Hall (23) ( Toowoomba Newtown), HK: Ron Davis ( Sarina), PR: Alan Thompson (28) ( Souths), SR: Bernie Drew (23) (Bundaberg), SR: Brian Davies (21) ( Brisbane Brothers), LK: Harold 'Mick' Crocker (24) ( Souths). Two players were selected as reserves, but did not play: Alex Watson (18) ( Wests), Gordon Teys ( Toowoomba Valleys). This match was Ron Davis' only appearance for the Maroons.
France: FB: Puig Aubert, WG: Raymond Contrastin, CE: Jacky Merquey, CE: Charles Galaup, WG: Vincent Cantoni, FE: René Duffort, HB: Joseph Crespo, PR: Paul Bartoletti, HK: Gabriel Genoud, PR: Andre Beraud, SR: Guy Delaye, SR: Édouard Ponsinet, LK: Louis Mazon.
Central Queensland: FB: Alan Poole ( Brothers), WG: Sid Irvine ( Blackall), CE: Mick Hauff ( Blackall), CE: Wal Gill ( Barcaldine), WG: Leo (Jeffcoat) Jeffcoot ( Brothers), FE: Vivian (Mick) Irwin ( Blackall), HB: Bernie Johnson ( Longreach), PR: Mick Turnbull ( Blackall), HK: H. Johnson ( Railways), PR: C (Bow) Harkin ( Brothers), SR: Reg Beath ( Railways), SR: Norm Elliott ( Winton), LK: Trevor Whitehead ( Brothers). France: FB: Puig Aubert, WG: Vincent Cantoni, CE: Maurice Andre, CE: Gaston Comes, WG: Ode Lespes, FE: Maurice Bellan, HB: René Duffort, PR: Andre Beraud, HK: Jean Audoubert, PR: François Rinaldi, SR: François Montrucolis, SR: Michel Lopez, LK: Gaston Calixte.