The Dark History of French Rugby скачать в хорошем качестве

The Dark History of French Rugby

Rugby Union did THIS to Kill Rugby League After France was thrown out of the 5 nations in 1931 many French players were lured by the professional aspect and spectacle of rugby league and the sport boomed. By 1939 the French league had 225 clubs and France beat England and Wales to take the European championship with the French rugby league team being the first French national team in any code of football to beat England on home soil. in the same year 3 leading rugby union clubs Narbonne, Carcassonne and Brive swapped to league. SUBSCRIBE: @ConnorDoesRugby However in 1939 something far greater than rugby happened. After Nazi Germany invaded Poland the UK and France declared war on Germany and world war II began. When France fell to the invading German Army in 1940 it was split into occupied France in the north and a pro-Nazi Vichy France in the south. The later consisting of the rugby heartland of the country. The Vichy Government associated rugby league with the pre war government, the UK and the famous French resistance leader Charles De Gaulle. The French Rugby Union, who’s amateur ethos appealed to the Nazi’s view of “Purity in Sport”, took advantage of a close relationship with the Prime Minister Philippe Pétain and rugby league Outlawed. Under Nazi order, the French rugby league immediately lost their stadiums, players and financial backing and were labelled “corrupters” of the youth with all assets handed over to the French Rugby Union. This amounted to 2,000,000 francs in 1940 which is worth around $846,000 US today that was never repaid. Although the ban was lifted after the war Rugby League was not allowed to call itself rugby until 1991 and was called Jeu à Treize (Game of 13) referring to the number of players per team. The game was also banned from schools and was limited to only 200 semi-professional players due a gentleman's agreement made between the 2 codes in 1947. Professional Rugby League did not return to France until 2006. Only 40,000 people participate in rugby league in France today compared to over 360,000 in rugby union. Without the French rugby unions collaboration with the Nazi regime Rugby League could very well be the most dominant code of rugby in France. The French rugby union used the power of one of the most evil and oppressive regimes in European history to better itself and we will never know the future that could have been for rugby league in France. Now I know that out of all the horrific things the Nazis did this is fairly low on the list but its important to remember that “rugby values” only exist when it suites rugby for them to exist and when they no longer do, they seem to vanish. Thanks for watching Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league or simply league, rugby, football, or footy, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112–122 metres (122 to 133 yards) long with H shaped posts at both ends of the field. It is one of the two extant codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union. it originated in Yorkshire in 1895 as the result of a split from the Rugby Football Union over the issue of payments to the players. Its rules progressively changed with the specific aim of producing a faster and more entertaining game to appeal to spectators, on whose income it depended. Due to its high-velocity contact, cardio-based endurance and minimal use of body protection, rugby league is widely regarded as the toughest and most brutal collision sport in the world. #RugbyNazis #rugbyunion #frenchrugbyhistory #rugby1940 #nazisports #rugby #rugbyhistory