Maurice Porra, born on May 1906, in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) and died on September 2, 1950, in the same town, was both a French international rugby union & league player, who played hooker in the 1920s and 1930s.
Trained as a rugby union player at the Stade athlétique Perpignanais, Maurice Porra went on to play for F.C. Auch and then F.C. Lézignan, reaching the French championship final in 1929, losing to U.S. Quillan. Following this final, F.C. Lézignan was suspended for a year by the French Rugby XV Federation, forcing Mr. Porra to join F.C. Lyon. He became a benchmark hooker and was selected for the French team against shortly before France's ban from the Five Nations Tournament. This selection had serious consequences for Mr. Porra, who was forced by the Federation to leave F.C. Lyon, which then declared itself a dissident club of the French Federation and launched the Union française de rugby amateur. After some hesitation and contradictory statements, he gave in and joined S.U. Agen just after his selection, but his rugby license was withdrawn. He played no matches for S.U. Agen between 1931 and 1933, when he returned to Perpignan, as the Federation upheld his deregistration.
In January 1934, at Jean Galia's invitation, he took part in the first French XIII rugby event, the Pioneers tour. From then on, he played XIII rugby. At the start of the 1934-1935 season, he became one of the stars of the French championship, signing for SA Villeneuve and winning the first edition of the 1935 French championship with Galia, Max Rousié, and Marius Guiral. He later joined the XIII Catalan de Perpignan and added a new title to his list of honours, the Coupe de France in 1939. At the same time, he also became a French international, taking part in the 1935, 1936, and 1937 editions of the European Cup of Nations.
Mobilized by the Second World War, which put an end to his sporting career, Porra subsequently became coach, first of RC Catalan (the name given to the XIII Catalan in the Quinzist version following the ban on XIII rugby) and then of Stade Aurillacois, before returning to Perpignan and the XIII Catalan when the war ended. He then coached Céret Sportif in XV rugby.
Beginnings in rugby
1927-1929: departure for F.C. Lézignan and French championship final
Maurice Porra joined F.C. Lézignan at the start of the 1927-1928 season, captained and coached by Jean Sébédio, a former French international, and partnered by Léopold Fabre. He played in his preferred position: hooker. The club competes in the French Championship this season, and finds itself in Pool G alongside Racing C.F., Stade Bordelais, U.S. Montauban, and C.A. Brive. The club did well, but failed to qualify for the four-team pool phase after losing the qualifying play-off match to Stade Bordelais 9-0.
The 1928-1929 season was more promising, with J. Sébédio no longer a player but still the coach of this Aude-based team. The club surprised everyone with a series of victories, first halted by U.S. Quillan, last runners-up in the French Championship, and then by A.S. Béziers in November 1928. That season, Porra demonstrated his qualities as a hooker, gradually establishing himself as one of France's leading players, and was already the subject of rumors about a possible move to a more prestigious club the following year. In February 1929, he was called up to the French national team for the first time as a replacement hooker in the event of Fernand Camicas's defection, to face Wales and then England in the Five Nations Tournament.
As the season progresses, F.C. Lézignan emerges as a serious outsider in the French Championship, where M. Porra shines as the headliner of the forwards. Over the course of the season, the club beat other contenders such as S.C. Mazamet, Stadoceste tarbais, U.S. Perpignan, Racing C.F., and S.U. Agen. With limited resources, the team's strength was limited, and it was the subject of an unflattering reputation inflicted by defeated teams, denouncing the chauvinism of its fans, the brutality of its players and the partiality of referees during home matches at the Stade du Moulin. On the other hand, the team is praised by many of its opponents when it plays on its home ground, where it is appreciated for its open, mobile play and confident scrummaging. F.C. Lézignan dominated the five-team pool and then the three-team pool ahead of F.C. Grenoble and Boucau Stade to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Championship.
In the quarter-finals, F.C. Lézignan faced Stade Bordelais at Toulouse's Stade des Ponts-Jumeaux, and at this stage of the competition were considered major title contenders due to the team's excellent preparation for the end of the season. Lézignan came out on top, winning 27-5. M. Porra's performance was noticed and his name was once again put forward for inclusion in the French team XV to face Germany at the end of the season, as was that of his team-mate André Clady, but he remained a substitute and was preferred to Georges Vaills. In the semi-finals of the Championship, the Audois club faced A.S. Béziers in Carcassonne, while the other semi-final pitted U.S. Quillan against S.U. Agen, giving the Languedoc committee three qualifiers for the semi-finals. The semi-final, played on the Pépinière pitch in front of 15,000 spectators, was a tight affair, and it was only after extra time (6-6 at the end of normal time) that Lézignan won 9-6 thanks to a final try from Célestin Wisser to qualify for the first final in its history and face U.S. Quillan in a 100% Audoise final. The date of the final was the subject of debate, with Quillan wishing it to be played on May 19 and Lézignan wanting it to be postponed until May 26 to allow their players to recuperate. In the end, the first option was chosen by the French Federation. The final, played in Toulouse against Jean Galia and Eugène Ribère's U.S. Quillan, was marred by a number of brawls that played havoc with the game, to the great displeasure of the spectators. In this match, F.C. Lézignan led 8-0 after 45 minutes, before collapsing at the end of the game to let Quillan win 11-8. A few weeks later, in mid-July 1929, the board of the French Rugby Federation voted to exclude F.C. Lézignan from the French Championship for one year, on the grounds of the brutality of the club's players in the final. These events precipitated the departure of Mr. Porra, who signed for F.C. Lyon.
1929-1934: Arrival at F.C. Lyon, French international then retirement from rugby union Maurice Porra joins F.C. Lyon for the 1929-1930 season in a team that does not play a leading role in the French Championship. Despite his contribution, the Lyon club was eliminated in the five-team pool, outclassed by C.A. Bègles, A.S. Béziers, and Section paloise. His name was no longer mentioned as a potential selection for the French national team, but he was called up to the Lyonnais squad during the season, where he rubbed shoulders with Charles Mathon, Henri Dechavanne, and Vincent Graule.
Mr. Porra began the 1930-1931 season with F.C. Lyon under the same constraints, but his name was once again mentioned to the French selectors. The only F.C. Lyon player named, he received a call-up for a selection match in December 1930 in Dax, where he was one of the potential first-teamers for the Five Nations Tournament match against Ireland scheduled for January 1, 1931. But in spite of himself, in December 1930 he found himself indirectly involved in the scandal that was shaking up French rugby union, when twelve clubs split from the French Championship to create a parallel championship called the “Tournoi des douze”, and form the Union française de rugby amateur to denounce violence and brown amateurism in France. Among these twelve clubs was M. Porra's F.C. Lyon, which had sent its resignation to the F.F.R. that month. Despite this, on December 22, 1930, M. Porra was confirmed as hooker to play against Ireland but on the sole condition imposed by the F.F.R. that he leave his club, F.C. Lyon. After some prevarication on the part of Mr. Porra, the F.F.R. announced that he had resigned from his club and would play against Ireland.
Played at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, the match was won by France, 3-0 thanks to a try from Eugène Ribère. Porra, celebrating his first cap, was hailed by his team-mates for his heeling performance. In the following days, on January 6, 1931, Mr. Porra played in a match with F.C. Lyon that caused a major controversy within the French Federation, which demanded explanations from the player. Mr. Porra confirms that he will remain with F.C. Lyon while making himself available to the French national team, but is refused by the Federation, who will no longer call him up to the national team as long as he is with F.C. Lyon.
Finally, in February 1931, Porra decided to leave F.C. Lyon and join S.U. Agen. However, he was unable to play for the French Championnat 1 team, due to a federal decision prohibiting a player from a dissident club linked to the UFRA from joining a federal club during the season. He therefore waited until the summer and the start of the 1931-1932 season to apply for his new license, but his application was refused by the French Rugby Federation in XV. As a result, he had to sit out the 1931-1932 season, followed by a second one in 1932-1933. In the summer of 1933, he decided to return to his home town of Perpignan and applied for a license with U.S.A. Perpignan. He waited for his license to be validated, but it never came, and he never played an official match, only coaching S.O. Perpignan.
At the beginning of 1934, he was finally approached by Jean Galia, a former French international who had been struck off by the French Rugby Federation of XV for acts of professionalism, to import the XIII rugby code to France. Mr. Porra responded positively to this invitation, and in March 1934 took part in the tour of a French selection called Les Pionniers.
1934: pioneering XIII rugby in France
Pioneers tour
In March 1934, Jean Galia, who had been banned from the French Rugby XV Federation, succeeded in setting up the first XIII rugby team in France, in conjunction with the English Rugby XIII Federation. In the process, he contacted a number of players who had been banned or had fallen foul of the XV rugby system due to brown amateurism. Maurice Porra, who had been canvassed by top clubs such as S.U. Agen, which he joined in 1931 for a fee, heard and shared the same arguments about this general hypocrisy. He is persuaded by J. Galia. M. Porra joins this team, then called “Les Pionniers”, and expresses his satisfaction at having taken part in this tour, where he meets up with his former team-mate from Lézignan, Léopold Fabre, and Robert Samatan, whom he had met in Agen.
From March 10 to 26, 1934, this French team, called “Les Pionniers” and led by Jean Galia, toured England, playing six matches against English teams in front of an audience of between 6,000 and 11,000 spectators. This event marked the start of the integration of rugby à XIII in France, with Maurice Porra taking part. On the return from this tour, the first official match between the French XIII rugby team and England was organized on April 15, 1934, at the Buffalo stadium. In view of his performance on this tour, J. Galia fielded M. Porra as hooker, surrounded by prop Georges Blanc and prop Charles Petit. Despite a good French performance, France was defeated 32-21. He then takes part in “propaganda” matches across France.
1934-1936: Villeneuve period
1934-1935: French and international XIII champion