The disappearance of François Moncla, this Sunday at the age of 89, sounds like that of one of the last tutelary figures of rugby before. Champion of France with the Racing Club de France (1959) then the Section Paloise (1964), he also wore the jersey of the XV of France on 31 occasions, including 18 times as captain. Winner of three Five Nations Tournaments (from 1959 to 1961), he is also on the legendary tour of the Blues in South Africa in 1958, recounted by Denis Lalanne “Le Grand combat du Quinze de France”. A man of fights and off-field commitments, a fervent communist and CGT activist, his death moved far beyond the simple framework of rugby.
Bernard Pontneau: “The epicenter of a generation”
For Bernard Pontneau, the president of the Section Paloise: “it was the epicenter of a generation of elders. He was also a man of conviction, always quick to commit to a cause. Of course he is the captain of the 1964 French champions and a great player for the French team. He’s a great legend, I remember a meeting with Conrad Smith, it was a real fusion between two legends of the sport. And then we can not help but think that he is joining his friend Michel Crauste up there … It will be a hell of a 3rd row in rugby players’ paradise“.
Olivier Dartigolles: “One of the faces of the demonstrations in Pau over the past 50 years”
During his playing career, François Moncla has long hidden his communist commitment. In 2016, he recounted his sports and activist fights in a book – Tales of Vive and Ovalie – written with Olivier Dartigolles, communist municipal councilor in Pau, ex-spokesperson for the PCF. Olivier Dartigolles underlines the impact of the tour in South Africa in 1958 on the convictions of François Moncla: “He had created a diplomatic incident! In front of a hotel, black men were pushing “Rickshaw” where the tourists, the whites, and there the players of the France team, went up. François had told these colored men to get in the cart, and it was he who pulled them, to the surprise of the South Africans! This tour marked his political awareness. After his career he had decades of commitment, he was one of the faces of the demonstrations over the past 50 years in Pau, it made us proud when he came. He always had the right words when things were wrong, he was a giant, on the pitches and in life“.
François Bayrou: “It was a Magnificent”
François Bayrou, the mayor of Pau, has often crossed paths with François Moncla and keeps an intact memory: “He was a legend, an icon of rugby and of our region. At this level there are only two: Robert Paparemborde and him. Chance of life has dictated that they both come from the Ossau valley. François Moncla was, like the title of the film with Jean-Paul Belmondo, a Magnificent. All those who were adolescents and who were going to applaud him at this glorious period of the Section had for him a veneration, a great gratitude and a great affection.“.