The First Ever "Crunch"

The first ever crunch, or first ever rugby match with France versus England, was on the 22nd of March 1906.

It was a major event as it was also the very first time any English national sports team had travelled to the continent to play a match! The match was held at the Parc des Princes, in Paris, The French jersey had 2 large rings linked together, one blue & one red, embroidered on the chest, It was the USFSA symbol which was the most important French sports organisation of the time. France lost the match 8 points to 35, an honorable score according to the English players « suprised to see the French play so well at a difficult game » as one Englishman said after the match!

One originality of the match was the reunion of 3 coloured players, Georges Jérome and André Vergès for France and James "Darkie" Peters for England. It needed 21 years before the English rose stopped pricking the French. It was only in 1927, at the Colombes stadium that the French won their first victory against the English with a score of 3 to 0 ! This jersey is proudly handmade in France.