Gilbert Benausse (born 21 January 1932 in

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

– died 24 November 2006 in Carcassonne) was a French

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at the international level for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and at club level for

AS Carcassonne Association Sportive of Carcassonne are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Carcassonne in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in the south of France. They play in the French Elite One Championship and a ...

Lézignan Sangliers Lézignan may refer to: In geography: * Lézignan, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, France * Lézignan-Corbières, a commune in the Aude department, France * Lézignan-la-Cèbe Lézignan-la-Cèbe (; oc, Lesinhan ...

and

Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The ...

, playing at , or , i.e. number 3 or 5, 6, or 7.

Playing career

Gilbert Benausse succeeded

Puig Aubert Puig Aubert (born Robert Aubert Puig, 24 March 1925 – 3 June 1994), is often considered the best French rugby league footballer of all-time. Over a 16-year professional career he would play for Carcassonne, XIII Catalan, Celtic de Paris and Ca ...

as the captain of France, and was one of the main protagonists of the victorious 1955 tour to Australia, and he competed in the

1954 Rugby League World Cup The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was rugby league football's first World Cup and was held in France in October–November 1954. Officially known as the "Rugby World Cup", SPARC, 2009: 28 four nations competed in the tournament: Australia, France, ...

and

1957 Rugby League World Cup The second Rugby League World Cup was held in Australia in 1957. As before a group stage was held first, with matches being held at locations in Sydney and Brisbane. The 1957 World Cup marked the 50th anniversary of rugby league in Australia bu ...

International honours

Gilbert Benausse won caps for

while at AS Carcassonne in 1951 against New Zealand (2 matches), in 1952 against Australia, in 1953 against Australia (2 matches), in the

against New Zealand, and Great Britain, in 1955 against Australia (2 matches), New Zealand, and

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, in 1956 against Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand, in 1957 against Great Britain (3 matches), in the

against Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia, and while at FC Lezignan in 1958 against Great Britain, in 1959 against Great Britain, and Australia, in 1960 against Great Britain, and Australia, in 1961 against Great Britain, and New Zealand (3 matches), in 1962 against Great Britain (3 matches), and in 1964 against Australia. Note: The total of 34 matches detailed above, is less the French record 49 International caps widely attributed to Gilbert Benausse, this could be due in part that prior to 1957, matches between France and Great Britain were not considered as Test matches by the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

, and consequently caps were not awarded, at least to the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

footballers.

French Rugby League Championship

Gilbert Benausse played in AS Carcassonne's 1951–52 and 1952–53

French Rugby League Championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

victories, and 1954–55

defeat, and FC Lezignan's 1960–61 and 1962–63

victories, and 1958–59

defeat.

Lord Derby Cup

Gilbert Benausse played in AS Carcassonne's 1950–51 and 1951–52

Lord Derby Cup The French Rugby League Cup (french: Coupe de France de Rugby à XIII), also called Lord Derby Cup (french: Coupe Lord Derby) after its championship trophy, is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France. Th ...

victories, and FC Lezignan's 1959–60 and 1965–66

victories, and 1960–61

defeat.

Lifetime honours

Gilbert Benausse was voted player of the tournament in the

. Gilbert Benausse was voted

footballer of the world in 1960. In 2001, Gilbert Benausse received the National Sports Career Prize awarded by the 'French Association for Sport without Violence and with Fair Play' (l'AFSVFP) from

Marie-George Buffet Marie-George Buffet (née Kosellek; born 7 May 1949) is a French politician. She was the head of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 2001 to 2010. She joined the Party in 1969, and she served in the government as Minister of Youth Affairs an ...

, the Minister of Youth and Sport.

Memorial honours

In Gilbert Benausse's honour, the Romieu Stadium has been renamed the Gilbert Benausse complex. Gilbert Benausse was included in the AS Carcassonne supporters all-time team announced on 24 January 2010.

Personal life

Gilbert Benausse was the brother of

test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

es against Great Britain) of the 1960s, René Benausse, and father of

and

, and of the 1990s and 2000s Patrice Benausse. Outside the pitch, he worked as a civil servant.

References

External links

Histoire – Le décret de Vichy (History – The Vichy decree)
(In French)

(In French) *[http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2010/01/26/762876-800-personnes-pour-les-70-ans-de-l-ASC-XIII.html 800 personnes pour les 70 ans de l'ASC XIII (800 people attend celebration for 70 years of AS Carcassonne)] (In French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Benausse, Gilbert 1932 births 2006 deaths AS Carcassonne players France national rugby league team captains France national rugby league team players French rugby league players Lézignan Sangliers players People from Carcassonne Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Sportspeople from Aude Toulouse Olympique players