Beschreibung:

A RARE 1910 FRENCH INTERNATIONAL RUGBY UNION MATCH-WORN JERSEY BEARING OLYMPIC RING CRESTPale blue with white collars having three buttons, white neckline and with shield shaped crest having a rope-frame and bearing interlocking blue and red Olympic rings, interior label for Williams & Co, ParisPreserved with other important jerseys and caps by Charles Meyrick Pritchard (1882 – 1916) which form a collection entered to this auction by Charlie Pritchard’s great-grandson. In recent years the collection has been archived and exhibited at the World Rugby Museum at Twickenham Stadium. The jersey swapped after Wales versus France, played on New Year's Day, 1910 at St Helen’s, Swansea. This was the only time that Charlie Pritchard played against France and the first match for France in the extended Five Nations Championship which had previously been reserved for the four British Isles nations. It was only four years on from France’s first ever International match against The Original All Blacks.Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (1863-1937), the co-founder of the International Olympic Committee, its second president and ‘the father of the modern Olympic Games’ was influential in the sport of rugby union too and did much to develop the sport in France. He refereed the first French Championship final in 1892, between Stade Francais and Racing Club. He would have been delighted when his twin passions of the Olympic movement and rugby football collided at the 1900 Paris Olympics, and even more so to see France win Olympic gold, against Moseley Wanderers the representing side for Britain. The adoption of the Olympic ring crest for the French rugby jersey would have been due to Coubertin’s considerable influence.The 1910 Wales v France match saw Billy Trew’s Welsh team kick-off the defence of their Home Nations title with a crowd of over 12,000 witnessing a Welsh victory at 49-14. Trew’s side had won the Grand Slam in 1908 and 1909 and were on a run of 10 successive victories. The win over the French made it 11, and they did it in real style, scoring nine tries and notching the highest score in the history of the tournament.It can only be speculated as to which of the French XV, Charlie Pritchard swapped his Wales jersey with, for this exceptionally rare Olympian example, on January 1st, 1910. But there is a high chance that the player died a young man, with six of the French XV from that match, dying with Charlie Pritchard in the First World War