Jean Galia (born 20 March 1905 in

Ille-sur-Têt Ille-sur-Têt (; Catalan: ''Illa'' or ''Illa de Tet'') is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales département in southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Illois''. Geography The commune is situated in the Ribéral region along the route n ...

, Pyrénées-Orientales, died 17 January 1949 in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

) was a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and

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 and champion boxer. He is credited with establishing the sport of rugby league in France in 1934, where it is known as ''rugby à treize'' ("rugby 13s"). Playing in the forwards, Galia made his international debut for the

France national rugby union team The France national rugby union team () represents France in men's international rugby union and it is administered by the French Rugby Federation. They traditionally play in blue shirts emblazoned with the national emblem of a golden rooster ...

in a 1927 test against England in Paris. After 20 internationals, He later played in France's first ever rugby league international, also against England in Paris, on 15 April 1934 and was captain of the

France national rugby league team The France national rugby league team represent France in international rugby league matches. They are referred to as ''les Chanticleers'' or less commonly as ''les Tricolores''. The team is run under the auspices of the Fédération Française ...

in its early days. Following France's tour of Northern England, Galia arranged a series of demonstration matches around France. The

Courtney Goodwill Trophy The Courtney Goodwill Trophy is a rugby league trophy that was awarded for competition between the national rugby league teams of Australia, France, Great Britain and New Zealand between 1936 and 1988. The trophy is displayed in the Heroes and Leg ...

, international rugby league's first, was presented for the first time in 1936 and depicted Galia, along with other pioneering greats of the code, James Lomas (Britain),

Albert Baskiville Albert (Bert) Henry Baskerville (born as "Baskiville") (15 January 1883 – 20 May 1908) was a Wellington postal clerk, a rugby union forward, author of the book "''Modern Rugby Football: New Zealand Methods; Points for the Beginner, the Pla ...

(New Zealand) and

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...

(Australia).“League Legends: fast facts about rugby league”
at ''nsm.org.au'' In 1988 Galia was inducted into the

Rugby League Hall of Fame The Rugby League Hall of Fame honours the leading players of the sport of rugby league. It was established by the sport's governing body in the UK, the Rugby Football League, in 1988. Players must have been retired for at least five years to be ...

References

External links

Jean Galia at scrum.com
* Jean Galia's introduction of the May 1934 Yorkshire's tour in France
Jean Galia's parent of the expression jeu à treize or Game of thirteenHistory of rugby league at napit.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galia, Jean 1905 births 1949 deaths Dual-code rugby internationals France international rugby union players France national rugby league team captains France national rugby league team coaches France national rugby league team players French male boxers French rugby league coaches French rugby league players French rugby union players Rugby league second-rows Sportspeople from Pyrénées-Orientales Toulouse Olympique coaches Villeneuve Leopards players