Gaston Lane (31 January 1883 – 23 September 1914) was a French

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. He was 1 m 68 cm tall and weighed 68 kg. He played right wing three quarter (later centre) for

Racing club de France Racing Club de France, also known as RCF, is a French multi-sport club that was founded on 20 April 1882 under the name Racing Club. Racing Club changed its name to Racing Club de France (RCF) on 21 November 1885. The club is located at the Bois ...

and for the French national team; at first he also played for AS Bois-Colombes then for the Paris Cosmopolitan Club. He played in the first French international and was capped ten times, along with

Marcel Communeau Marcel Communeau (11 September 1885 – 26 June 1971) was a French rugby union player, who represented the France national rugby union team. Communeau was the leading French player prior to World War I, representing his country a record 21 times ...

. He was a tradesman. He was killed on the front in

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

at the start of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was an excellent club rugby player, and also occasionally contributed articles to ''Sporting''.

Career

Club

* Cosmopolitan Club, Paris * AS Bois-Colombes (initially)

International

Gaston Lane was first selected for the French national team for the 1 January 1906 match against the

All-Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, the first French Test match.

Highlights

Club

* Second place in French national rugby championship, 1912 with Racing club de France, and captain, alongside

Géo André Georges Yvan "Géo" André (13 August 1889 – 4 May 1943) was a French track and field athlete and rugby union player. Biography As an athlete, he competed in the 1908, 1912, 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics in various events, including long j ...

and Pierre Failliot, who also played three quarters.

International

* 16 caps. * 1 try (3 points). * Caps by year: 2 in 1906, 1 in 1907, 2 in 1908, 3 in 1909, 2 in 1910, 2 in 1911, 3 in 1912, 1 in 1913. * Participated in the first official France match against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

in their first European tour. * Captain five times (in 1906, 1910, 1912 & 1913), and captain of the French first XV in the first

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament contes ...

, against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

in 1910 (the second was

in the next match). * He was in 4 seasons of the Five Nations Championship in the pre-war period. * First victory against a Home Nations team,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, in the second French Five Nations Championship, in 1911.

References

* Godwin, Terry ''Complete Who's Who of International Rugby'' (Cassell, 1987, )

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Gaston 1883 births 1914 deaths Rugby union players from Paris France international rugby union players French rugby union players French military personnel killed in World War I Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Racing 92 players