Robert Samatan, nicknamed ''Bob la Science'' (

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, 16 April 1909 -

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

, 4 May 1986) 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 ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer. He debuted for T.O.E.C (rugby union), 1.78m tall and weighing 76 kg at his debut, later he played at left wing for

SU Agen Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the Pro D2, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, ...

(but also as right wing or number eight). A very powerful player, he is the forerunner of the modern wingers' playing style. The first player to be inspired by his lively and alert technique was

Jean Dauger Jean Dauger (Cambo-les-Bains, 12 November 1919 – 12 October 1999) was a French rugby union and rugby league footballer. He played as a centre. He was nicknamed ''Manech'', which is a Lower Navarre Basque language, Basque translation of his giv ...

, who played for Bayonne. In March

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

, he was dismissed from

, and was part of the rugby league team of the "Galia's Boys" who made a memorable tour in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

under the management and captainship of its creator

Jean Galia Jean Galia (born 20 March 1905 in Ille-sur-Têt, Pyrénées-Orientales, died 17 January 1949 in Toulouse) was a French rugby union and rugby league footballer and champion boxer. He is credited with establishing the sport of rugby league in Fra ...

. His status as a Pioneer (Galia's Boy) did not qualify him as a French International. Opting for rugby league, he integrated the Roanne XIII squad where

Max Rousié Max Rousié (18 July 1912 – 2 June 1959) was a French rugby league and rugby union footballer who rose to prominence in the 1930s. He was a dual-code international, eventually becoming captain of the France national rugby league team, French r ...

and

played alongside him in 1938. In

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

, he led the first French tour of a team sport (e.g. France national rugby league team) in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. In his civil life, he worked as wholesaler in the food sector.

Biography

In March 1934, Robert Samatan made an interview for L'Auto after switching to rugby league where he denounced the hypocrisy and the 'shamateurism' within the

French Rugby Federation The French Rugby Federation (, ; FFR) is the governing body for rugby union in France. It is responsible for the French national team and the Ligue nationale de rugby that administers the country's professional leagues. History Before the FFR ...

since several years. Playing then at the Toulouse Lyceum, he received an offer from Annibert (of

Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain () (), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successfu ...

, who later became a member of the

French Athletics Federation The French Athletics Federation (, FFA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in France. History FFA is the heir to the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA), founded November 20, 1887. In 1912, a French dele ...

where he dictated the laws of the full amateurism). Annibert promised him a success at his exams and numerous advantages and Mr. Furst of Stade Toulousain also proposed him 200 francs per month, which convinced Samatan to sign. After some months, his salary quadrupled and numerous clubs offered him a better salary like

Quillan Quillan (; Languedocien: ''Quilhan'') is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Brenac was merged into Quillan. Geography Quillan is located at the foothills of the Pyrenees, on the roa ...

and

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

, but it is finally Agen through Mr. Armand Bastoul's intermediary which obtained his signature for 25.000

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

and a situation, which later convinced Maurice Porra to join him at Agen for 1.500 francs per month. He decided to take part of the creation of a French rugby league team with

. Appointed by the latter to convince some players to switch to rugby league, he faced overbids from rugby union clubs which were yet amateur in principle, such as

USA Perpignan Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, France' ...

.''Actuellement encore des joueurs sont payés !'', Robert Perrier, l'Auto, le dimanche 5 mars 1934.

Rugby union career

* Champion of France (as winger) with

(1930) * International (10 caps) for France A (

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

)

Rugby league career

* Team honours : ** Winner of the

French Championship The French rugby league championship () was the top tier of the French rugby league system from its inception in 1934 until 2002 when the league was split into two divisions; the Elite One Championship and Elite Two Championship. In all seasons ...

: 1939 (

Roanne Roanne (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (French), with many Egypt ...

).Robert Samatan did not take part at the final. ** Winner of the

Lord Derby Cup The Coupe de France Lord Derby (), or just Coupe Lord Derby ('Lord Derby Cup'), is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France, as well as the name of its championship trophy. The tournament was first conte ...

: 1935 ( Lyon-Villeurbanne) et 1938 (

). * Individual honours : ** International in four occasions for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

between 1934 and 1936. ** Co-trainer of France (being the first French team of a team sport (France national rugby league team) who made in 1951 a tour (successful and of 2,5 months) in Oceania) (1951-1955).

International Caps

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Robert Samatan international statistics
at ESPN Scrum

at rugbyleagueproject.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Samatan, Robert 1909 births 1986 deaths Dual-code rugby internationals France international rugby union players France national rugby league team coaches France national rugby league team players Lyon Villeurbanne XIII players RC Roanne XIII players Rugby league coaches Rugby league wingers Rugby union wings Rugby league players from Toulouse Rugby union players from Toulouse SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players French rugby union players 20th-century French sportsmen