Rugby/ Bayonne/ The second blue wave/ 1920 - Lot 133

Rugby/ Bayonne/ The second blue wave/ 1920 Superb original silver press photo, framed. Twenty "ciel et blanc" (17 standing, 3 seated, including André Behotéguy) in the studio of M. Aubert, renowned as a knight of the sensitive plate, displaying the good health of the Aviron Bayonnais. Before 14, the Basques had already made headlines, in a memorable match: in the championship final, they won the Scuf de Brennus by 21 to 8... Sadly, this flurry of handball was crushed by the Great War, but it survived, because as we know, great teams never die. And so, in 1922-23, the Basques, despite the dramatic bloodletting they had suffered, were still there in the final, looking as dashing as ever in this photo. They lost both times, but with honors, under the blows of Jauréguy or Struxiano, by scores less thick than a pala-ancha. The great Roe has been with us since 1913, and one of the four Forgues brothers has ensured the continuity of the family epic. The names of their team-mates still clatter in the Adour valley like bullets on the Ascain pediment, and they are the terrible Pierre-Elie Apcher, who will come to energize Limoges, and Arnaudin, and Serrate, and Lahirigoyen, and Billac or Etchegaray and Pardo. The great André Behoteguy (1900-1969), who excelled at international level, and also shone in athletics and rowing, is there, near the ballBE. 23 x 39 cm int. - 27 x 43 ext.