Victory Internationals
The Victory Internationals were a series of international rugby union games that were played between teams from Great Britain , Ireland , France and New Zealand from January 1945 to April 1946 to celebrate victory in World War II .
history
During the Second World War, all international games were suspended, with the exception of a few games between the German Empire , Italy and Romania . Shortly before the start of the war in 1939, after a seven-year hiatus , France was again admitted to the international tournament of the four British Home Nations (today's Six Nations ), but the next tournament could not be played until 1947. To bridge the gap until the resumption of the traditional series of tournaments and as a token of appreciation for the population, a total of 22 encounters between international selection teams took place in 1945 and 1946. The associations involved did not grant the games their full official status as a test match , as many players were still doing military service and were therefore missing.
The selection teams were representatives of the associations Rugby Football Union (England), Irish Rugby Football Union (Ireland) and Scottish Rugby Union (Scotland), who were comparable to the respective national teams in terms of playing level. The Fédération Française de Rugby (France) sent the official national team . There were also teams from the British armed forces and the Kiwis who represented the New Zealand Expeditionary Force . The New Zealand Rugby Football Union did not consider these games to be test matches either, but the Kiwis were widely recognized in their homeland and more than half of the players later played for the All Blacks .
Results
| January 1, 1945 |
 France
|
21: 9 | British Army |
Parc des Princes , Paris Spectators: 30,000 Referee: Henry Fry ( England ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Attempts: Baladié , Dauger (2), Prin-Clary , Sahuc Elevations: Desclaux , Prat (2) |
report |
Tries : Holmes , Risman , TL Williams |
| April 28, 1945 |
British Empire Forces | 27: 6 |
France
|
Athletic Ground, Richmond Referee: RA Beattie ( Scotland ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tries : Hollis , Owens , Risman , B. Williams Elevations: Risman (3) |
report |
Attempts: Massars Penalty kicks : Prat |
| December 22, 1945 |
.svg){kind=small} Wales XV
|
8-0 |
France
|
St Helen’s , Swansea Spectators: 25,000 Referee: Alan Bean ( England ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Try: Davies , Matthews |
report |
| January 1, 1946 |
France
|
10-0 | British Empire Services |
Parc des Princes , Paris Spectators: 30,000 Referee: Cyril Gadney ( England ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Attempts: Baladié , Prat Dropgoals: Bergougnan |
report |
| January 5, 1946 |
Wales XV
|
3: 11 |
 Kiwi fruit
|
Cardiff Arms Park , Cardiff Referee: JBC Whittaker ( England ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| report |
| January 19, 1946 |
 England XV
|
3:18 |
Kiwi fruit
|
Twickenham Stadium , London Referee: RA Beattie ( Scotland ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| report |
| January 19, 1946 |
Wales XV
|
13:25 |
England XV
|
Cardiff Arms Park , Cardiff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 19, 1946 |
 Scotland XV
|
11: 6 |
Kiwi fruit
|
Murrayfield Stadium , Edinburgh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| report |
| January 26, 1946 |
 Ireland XV
|
3: 4 |
France
|
Lansdowne Road , Dublin Spectators: 40,000 Referee: HG Lathwell ( England ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Penalty kicks: D. Thorpe |
report | Dropgoals: Bergougnan |
| February 2, 1946 |
Wales XV
|
6:25 |
Scotland XV
|
St Helen's , Swansea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 6, 1946 |
England XV
|
14: 6 |
Ireland XV
|
Twickenham Stadium , London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 9, 1946 |
Ireland XV
|
4: 3 |
England XV
|
Lansdowne Road , Dublin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 23, 1946 |
Scotland XV
|
9-0 |
Ireland XV
|
Murrayfield Stadium , Edinburgh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 23, 1946 |
England XV
|
0: 3 |
Wales XV
|
Twickenham Stadium , London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 9, 1946 |
Wales XV
|
6: 4 |
Ireland XV
|
Cardiff Arms Park , Cardiff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 10, 1946 |
France
|
9:14 |
Kiwi fruit
|
Stade Olympique , Colombes Spectators: 21,000 Referee: George Warden ( England ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Try: Baladié , Pebeyre , Terreau |
report |
Attempts: Blake , Sherratt (2) Elevations: Scott Penalty Kicks: Scott |
| March 13, 1946 |
Rhine Army XV | 0: 12 |
Kiwi fruit
|
Stadion am Zoo , Wuppertal Referee: Barney McCall ( Wales ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| report |
| March 16, 1946 |
England XV
|
12: 8 |
Scotland XV
|
Twickenham Stadium , London |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 24, 1946 |
France
|
10: 13 |
Kiwi fruit
|
Stade Ernest-Wallon , Toulouse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| report |
| March 30, 1946 |
Scotland XV
|
13: 11 |
Wales XV
|
Murrayfield Stadium , Edinburgh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 13, 1946 |
Scotland XV
|
27: 0 |
England XV
|
Murrayfield Stadium , Edinburgh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 22, 1946 |
France
|
12: 0 |
Wales XV
|
Stade Olympique , Colombes Spectators: 34,000 Referee: Alan Bean ( England ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tries : Terreau (2) Elevations: Prat Dropgoals: Alvarez |
report |
Individual evidence
- ^ A b John Griffiths: Rugby's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary but True Stories from Over a Century of Rugb . Pavilion Books, London 2016, ISBN 978-1-911042-29-7 .
- ↑ Anthony Woodford: Welsh stars still had a rugby ball in wartime. Wales Online, January 27, 2009, accessed August 6, 2020 .
- ↑ 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force rugby team. Rugby Redifined, April 25, 2013, accessed August 6, 2020 .