FRANCE-USA
RUGBY CENTENNIAL
1924 - 2024
France-USA Rugby Centennial is an association of rugby enthusiasts. In 2024, the association celebrates the rugby ties between France and the United States on the centenary of a legendary match between the two nations.
USA in France !
Become a Member of Rugby Centennial!
This year, between June 23 and July 4, France will welcome the American National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) team to play three matches against French national teams, with the support of France Rugby and French Leagues.
The first two matches will take place in Hauts-de-France and Normandy, in places symbolic of the shared history of our two countries, and in particular as part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings.
The third match, in Paris, will celebrate the centenary of a legendary match...
Rooted in Legend
In 1924, France hosted the Olympic Games in Paris. At the time, it was one of the great rising nations of a small sport that was also beginning to make its mark: rugby!
Having qualified for the final of the Games, France was about to take on the United States. They may have looked a little too confidently at this composite alliance of Californian students, who were more eclectic athletes than traditional rugby players. But what athletes they were!
In a hard-fought match, the USA won the match by a final score of 3-17, and were crowned Olympic champions in what would later become the last XV rugby performance in the history of the Games.
A Triple Celebration
100 Years Together
100 years! 100 years since the United States became the reigning Olympic champions of rugby union!
However, the celebration of this American century is also that of a shared history with France: that of two world wars fought side by side, in which players from each team would find themselves involved, for one, for the other, or for both.
That's why the Centennial Tour, the official event of the 80th anniversary celebrations of D-Day, will be inscribed in military remembrance, with the support of the French Army.
Allan Muhr
The centenary of the 1924 match is also an opportunity to pay tribute to one of the many heroes of Franco-American relations.
Indeed, who better than Allan Muhr to embody the spirit of our project? American player living in France, captain of Racing, player in the very first XV de France... He also helped organize the 1924 Games alongside Pierre de Coubertin.
We also pay tribute to Allan Muhr, who fought in two world wars, was a member of the French Resistance and died in deportation.
The Road to 2031
The France-USA Rugby Centennial Tour has a concrete objective: to renew rugby ties between two nations.
Rugby was once a promising sport in the United States before being supplanted by American football and basketball.
Today, however, it is making a comeback, and the country will even host the Rugby World Cup in 2031.
There's still a long way to go, and the France-USA Rugby Centennial initiatives, with the support of the FFR and the NCR, will be one of the regular events along the way.
Three Matches
Hauts-de-France - June 23
against BELGIUM XV
Dunkirk - Stadium du Littoral: the American journey begins in Hauts-de-France, where they landed in 1917 and plunged into the hell of the Great War alongside us.
With the participation of the Region, we will renew the memory of the rugby players who died in the trenches with a visit to the monument dedicated to them in Lomme.
Finally, the All Americans team will face the Black Devils, the Belgium's national team, rising nation of the European rugby.
Normandy - June 27
against FRENCH ARMY XV
Bayeux - Stade Henry Jeanne: just a few kilometers from Omaha Beach, Bayeux was the first French town liberated by the Allies after the D-Day landings in June 1944.
Part of the official celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings, the match will feature a friendly clash between the All Americans and the French Army XV, the world champion armed forces team crowned in 2023.
The rugby 7's French Pacific military team will also play against the Americans and share their culture.
The Region will also be organizing cultural festivities around the event.
Paris - July 4
against FRENCH UNIVERSITIES' XV
Suresnes - Stade Jean Moulin: at the foot of Mont Valérien, symbol of the martyrdom of the Resistance during the Occupation, the Americans will end their journey in France on the symbolic date of July 4.
This time, the All Americans will be welcomed by the XV de France university team, for a final match celebrating the academic collaboration between our two countries.
The pre-match and the half-time will be animated by rugby 7 matches against the Rugby 7 French military team.
A gala evening will bring the tour to a close.
Three Main Partners
France Rugby is an official sponsor of the event. As the organizers of the last Rugby World Cup, France Rugby is keen to forge strong links with American rugby in order to develop a lasting relationship of cooperation and development across the Atlantic through to the 2031 World Cup and beyond!
National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) is the primary collegiate rugby association in America serving 17,000 players across 630 men’s and women’s clubs. For the centennial tour, NCR brings together one of its flagship teams: the Men's All Americans. With a view towards the 2031 World Cup, NCR is focused on growing and developing the collegiate game and talent pool.
The American Chamber of Commerce in France is celebrating its centenary this year! A link between French and American companies, it consolidates transatlantic cooperation, notably around the shared passion for rugby, with the 2031 World Cup as its first horizon.
Up & Under in our scrum !
The sports events company Up & Under supports Rugby Centennial with its experience of working with the biggest teams.
