Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, second day of the 2018 Six Nations Tournament. Scotland receives France. It is around 5 p.m. local time when the referee whistles the end of the game. The XV du Chardon won the match 32-26, against the Blues overthrown in the last twenty minutes, in front of 67,000 spectators. John Barclay, the captain of Scotland, is then ready to lift an unprecedented cup: the Auld Alliance trophy, created in tribute to the rugby players of the two countries, who died during the First World War, whose centenary is celebrated that year. of the armistice. A trophy put into play this Sunday, February 26 at the Stade de France, during the match between the two teams.
The sporting world did not escape the horrors of the Great War. In all, 133 international rugby players lost their lives there. English, South Africans, New Zealanders, but also 22 French players and 31 Scottish, the heaviest contingent. President of the association Memories of rugby events, a structure organizing commemorative events around the oval ball, Patrick Caublot set out to unearth their history. From the Somme to Belgium, this native of Amiens visits their graves in French and British military cemeteries. Without being able to really explain it, the man “has always had a special vibe for Scotland”.
And a crazy idea comes to his mind: like the Eurostar trophy that has united France and England since 2000, and the Garibaldi trophy between France and Italy since 2007, why not offer one to name of relations between France and Scotland? Especially since the two countries have special historical ties. “In 1296, the treaty of the Auld Alliance, translation of Old Alliance in Scottish, was ratified between the kingdom of France and that of Scotland, enlightens Clarisse Godard Desmarest, lecturer at Picardie Jules-Verne University. It was at the beginning a military agreement against their common enemy: England. But the treaty gradually lost its substance. »
A prestigious pedigree
It remains for Patrick Caublot to find his figurehead. His research begins with the 21 Dead Scots on the Western Front in France. The story of one of them intrigues him: Eric Milroy, whose name is today engraved on the Thiepval memorial, in the Somme. Born in Edinburgh on December 4, 1887, the future international went through the prestigious George Watson’s College, before joining the University of Edinburgh for studies in mathematics. In parallel, Eric Milroy plays rugby and joins the team of his university. On February 5, 1910, he signed his first national selection against Wales and wore the Chardon jersey 12 times, including two with the captain’s armband, in 1914.
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