1945–46 Victory Internationals

The so-called Victory Internationals[1][2] is a list of rugby union matches played in Europe from 1945 to 1946 between British, New Zealand and French rugby union representatives.

For the association football matches, see Victory International.

During the Second World War, international matches were suspended, with the exception of some matches between Italy, Germany and Romania. Earlier, in June 1939, France was re-admitted to play in the 1940 international match against British teams, but the so-called "Five Nations" championship could start only in 1947.

The international matches were not recognized as "official" ("capped matches") by British unions due to the absence of many players still serving in the armed forces in European and Pacific ocean theatres. France however did award full caps for each of these games.[1]

The New Zealand selection was called the "Kiwis", and was also known as the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force Rugby Team (a group of New Zealand soldiers), a name derived from 2NZEF. Like its British counterparts, it did not award any notional cap, but this team eventually became widely recognized in its country and more than half of the Kiwi players ended up also playing for the All Blacks.[3]

The activity restarted on 1 January 1945, with a match between France and a British Army selection, played in Colombes, followed by a match played at Richmond on 28 April, between a "British Empire XV" and France. More regular matches were played between December 1945 and April 1946.

In 2013, the Welsh Rugby Union finally decided to award a cap for all the otherwise uncapped Welsh players who took part in the 1945 and 1946 matches against France.[4]

Results

1 January 1945	France	21 - 9	British Army	Parc des Princes, Paris[5]
	Try: Baladie, Dauger (2), Prin-Clary, Sahuc Con: Desclaux, Prat (2)		Try: Holmes, Risman, TL Williams	Attendance: 30000 Referee: Henry Arthur Fry

28 April 1945	British Empire Forces	27 - 6	France	Athletic Ground, Richmond[6]
	Try: Hollis (2), Owens (2), Risman (2), Williams Con: Risman (3)		Try: Massare Pen: Prat	Referee: R.A. Beattie

22 December 1945	Wales XV	8 - 0	France	St. Helen's, Swansea[7]
	Try: Davies, Matthews Con: James			Attendance: 25000

1 January 1946	France	10 - 0	British Empire Services	Parc des Princes, Paris[8]
	Try: Baladie, Prat Drop: Bergougnan			Attendance: 30000 Referee: Cyril Herbert Gadney

5 January 1946	Wales XV	3 - 11	Kiwis	Arms Park, Cardiff[9]

19 January 1946	England XV	3 - 18	Kiwis	Twickenham, London[10]
				Referee: R.A. Beattie

19 January 1946	Wales XV	13 - 25	England XV	Arms Park, Cardiff[2]

19 January 1946	Scotland XV	11 - 6	Kiwis	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh[11]

26 January 1946	Ireland XV	3 - 4	France	Lansdowne Road, Dublin[12]
	Try: Thorpe		Drop: Bergougnan	Attendance: 40000 Referee: H.G. Lathwell

2 February 1946	Wales XV	6 - 25	Scotland XV	Swansea[2]

6 February 1946	England XV	14 - 6	Ireland XV	Twickenham, London

9 February 1946	Ireland XV	4 - 3	England XV	Lansdowne Road, Dublin[13][14]

23 February 1946	Scotland XV	9 - 0	Ireland XV	Murrayfield, Edinburgh[15][16]

23 February 1946	England XV	0 - 3	Wales XV	Twickenham, London[2]

9 March 1946	Wales XV	6 - 4	Ireland XV	Arms Park, Cardiff[2][17]

10 March 1946	France	9 - 14	Kiwis	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes[18][19]
	Try: Baladie, Pebeyre, Terreau		Try: Blake, Sherratt (2) Con: Scott Pen: Scott	Attendance: 21000 Referee: George Warden

13 March 1946	Rhine Army XV	0 - 12	Kiwis	Stadion am Zoo, Wuppertal[20]
				Referee: Major B.E.W. McCall M.C.

16 March 1946	England XV	12 - 8	Scotland XV	Twickenham, London[21]

24 March 1946	France	10 - 13	Kiwis	Stade Ernest Wallon, Toulouse[22]
				Referee: Mon. Barbe

30 March 1946	Scotland XV	13 - 11	Wales XV	Murrayfield, Edinburgh[2]

13 April 1946	Scotland XV	27 - 0	England XV	Murrayfield, Edinburgh

22 April 1946	France	12 - 0	Wales XV	Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes[23]
	Try: Terreau (2) Con: Prat Drop: Alvarez			Attendance: 34000 Referee: Alan Shilleto Bean

References

1. Griffiths, John (2016). Rugby's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary but True Stories from Over a Century of Rugby. United Kingdom: Pavilion Books. ISBN 9781911042297.
2. Woolford, Anthony (27 January 2009). "Welsh stars still had a rugby ball in wartime". walesonline. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
3. "2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force rugby team". 24 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
4. "Welsh rugby: President's Caps given to 25 players for non-Tests". 22 November 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
5. France 21 - 9 British Army
6. British Empire Forces 27 - 6 France
7. Wales XV 8 - 0 France
8. France 10 - 0 British Empire Services
9. "TDIH: January 5 1946 – "Kiwis" beat Wales, on Cardiff Arms Park. – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
10. "TDIH: November 24 1945 -"Kiwis" win first international. – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
11. "TDIH: January 19 1946 – "Kiwis" suffer their first loss against Scotland. – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
12. "Ireland XV v France". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
13. IrishPhotoArchive (22 October 2013), 1946 - Rugby Union, England v Ireland, retrieved 20 March 2019
14. "Ireland Rugby Programmes". www.rugbymemories.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
15. "Rugby 1946, February 9 and 23, Scotland vs. Ireland; and Ireland vs. England official programmes signed. at Whyte's Auctions | Whyte's - Irish Art & Collectibles". Whyte's. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
16. "Irish Rugby Photographs - Teams & Players of Ireland". www.rugbyrelics.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
17. "Official programme for the match at Cardiff Arms Park, 9th March 1946".
18. "France v Kiwis". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
19. "TDIH: March 10 1946 – "Kiwis" win a thriller against France. – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
20. "TDIH: March 13 1946 – Scratchy win for "Kiwis" in Germany. – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
21. Rugby Football Union. "Official Programme from the RFU".
22. "TDIH: March 24 1946 – Close, but the "Kiwis defeat France again. – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
23. "France v Wales XV". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 20 March 2019.