Charles Petit
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Charles Louis Petit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 January 1903 Saint-Ouen, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 21 January 1981 (aged 78) Villeurbanne, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Second-row, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Charles Petit, born on 5 January 1903 in Saint-Ouen (Seine) and died on 21 January 1981 in Villeurbanne (Rhône), was a French international rugby union and rugby league player during the 1920s and 1930s.
While undertaking his military service in Valence-sur-Rhône, he met two rugby union players, Jean Clément from Tarbes and Raymond Causse from Béziers. Clément predicted a great future for him in the sport. After completing his military service, Petit was called upon to identify rugby talent in Lorraine. He subsequently joined SU Lorrain. He played his only season in the top division of the French Rugby Union Championship in 1931–32. In 1931, while his club was competing in the second-tier Championnat d'Honneur, he earned his first and only cap for the French national team in the 1931 Five Nations Championship. France lost 35–3 to Wales, with Petit scoring his country's only try.
With the introduction of rugby league to France by Jean Galia, Petit was among the first players to embrace the new code and took part in the Pioneers' tour in March 1934. One of the leading players in the French Rugby League Championship, he helped establish RC Roanne for the 1934–35 season as a player-coach, before spending four seasons with US Lyon-Villeurbanne in the same role. The outbreak of the Second World War and the subsequent ban on rugby league in France brought his playing career to an end. After the war, the Lyon club called upon him again to coach the team, which won the French Cup in 1953 and 1954. He subsequently became the club's sporting director.
Personal life
Charles Petit was born on 5 January 1903 in Saint-Ouen. His father was Eugène Petit (1878–?) and his mother was Victorine Le Sourd (1867–1949). Charles was the eldest of five children: Victorine (1906–2005), Eugène (1906–1939), Pierre (1909–1967) and Pauline (1911–1974).
He married Marie Soulage (1897–?) on 25 June 1929 in Nancy. They divorced on 12 July 1944, and he married Paulete Charnay on 7 May 1960 in Villeurbanne. He worked as a café and bar proprietor. He died on 23 June 1981 in Villeurbanne.
Playing and coaching career
Charles Petit at SU Lorrain and his rugby union international appearance
 Wales 35–3 France  |
| France team
Jean Duhau, Robert Scohy, Marius Rodrigo, Paul Barrère, Charles Petit, Ernest Camo, Eugène Ribère, Jean Galia – Lucien Serin (scrum-half), Léopold Servole (fly-half) – Robert Samatan, Georges Clément, Max Vigerie, Lucien Augras, Maurice Savy |
1934: The Pioneers' tour
In late 1933, Jean Galia, who had been banned from rugby union, initiated the introduction of rugby league in France. To this end, he sought to persuade numerous players to join him. Petit, like many rugby union players, including several internationals, joined the movement.
For the first major appearance of French rugby league, Galia organised a tour of England by a French representative team in March 1934. Petit was selected for the team, which became known as Les Pionniers. He was joined by several prominent rugby union players of the time, including Joseph Carrère, Robert Samatan, Jean Duhau and Charles Mathon, who sought to challenge the practice of concealed professionalism in rugby union after being banned from the sport, while also making a living from their rugby abilities.
The tour helped establish rugby league in France, leading to the formation of numerous clubs and the introduction of the French championship in the autumn of 1934.
1934–1935: Player-coach at RC Roanne
1935–1939: Player-coach at US Lyon-Villeurbanne XIII
Honours
Rugby union
Club and international statistics
| Season | Championship | International appearances | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comp. | Pos. | Comp. | M | Pts | Tr | Goals | DG | ||
| 1929–30 | SU Lorrain |
Championnat d'Honneur | |||||||
| 1930–31 | Championnat d'Honneur | Five Nations | 1 | 3 | 1 | – | – | ||
| 1931–32 | French Championship | ||||||||
| 1932–33 | Championnat d'Honneur | ||||||||
| 1933–34 | Championnat d'Honneur | ||||||||
International appearances
| No. | Date | Opponent | Result | Competition | Position | Points | Tries | Pen. | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing France | |||||||||
| 1 | 28 February 1931 | Wales |
3–35 | Five Nations | Lock | 3 | 1 | – | – |
Rugby league
Playing career
International appearances
| No. | Date | Opponent | Result | Competition | Position | Points | Tries | Pen. | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing France | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 April 1934 |  England |
21–32 | Test match | Second-row | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | 16 February 1936 | England |
7–25 | European Championship | Loose forward | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | 6 December 1936 | Wales |
3–9 | European Championship | Loose forward | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | 21 March 1937 | Dominions | 3–6 | Test match | Loose forward | – | – | – | – |
| 5 | 11 April 1937 | England |
9–23 | European Championship | Loose forward | – | – | – | – |
| 6 | 1 November 1937 |  British Empire |
0–15 | Test match | Loose forward | – | – | – | – |
| 7 | 1 January 1938 |  Australia |
6–35 | Test match | Second-row | – | – | – | – |
Club and international statistics
| Season | Championship | Cup | International appearances | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comp. | Pos. | Comp. | Pos. | Comp. | M | Pts | Tr | Goals | DG | ||
| 1934–35 | RC Roanne |
French Championship | 4th | French Cup | Quarter-finals | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| 1935–36 | US Lyon-Villeurbanne |
French Championship | Semi-finals | French Cup | Quarter-finals | EC | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 1936–37 | French Championship | 5th | French Cup | Quarter-finals | EC | 3 | – | – | – | – | |
| 1937–38 | French Championship | Quarter-finals | French Cup | Quarter-finals | 2 | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1938–39 | French Championship | 8th | French Cup | Round of 16 | |||||||
Legend: EC = European Championship.
Coaching career
- Team honours:
- Winner of the French Cup: 1953 and 1954 (US Lyon-Villeurbanne).
- Runner-up in the French Rugby League Championship: 1953 (US Lyon-Villeurbanne).
References
- ↑ French register of deceased persons since 1970
- 1 2 Bonnery 1996, p. 46
- ↑ Bonnery 1996, p. 49
External links