Former Mont-de-Marsan center André Boniface, legend of French rugby and icon of “French flair”, died Monday at the age of 89 at Bayonne hospital, AFP learned from his family. Center of genius of the Blues, associated with his little brother Guy, who died prematurely in a road accident on January 1, 1968, André Boniface won four Five Nations Tournaments and won a championship title in 1963 and three Challenges Yves-du- Manor with Stade Montois, his club of almost all time.
It was the time of the “Boni” which amazed the fields of France, but also those of the British Isles in the winter months. With their inventiveness and their thirst for movement, they were the incarnation of French Flair, an expression from England to salute the creativity of the “French game”.
Cardiff’s defeat
The eldest Boniface has obtained 48 caps for Blue, but a little less than half alongside his brother Guy, winner of two Tournaments without him. After several turbulent periods in Blue, the two Montois were permanently excluded from the selection in March 1966 following a defeat against Wales (9-8) in Cardiff, which also ended Jean’s international career. Gachassin, author of a bell pass for André Boniface intercepted by a Welshman.
These three players had in fact been designated responsible for this defeat by their Federation. With Mont-de-Marsan, André Boniface had to wait for his third final to finally lift the Brennus Shield, at the end of a memorable 1963 final “but disappointing in terms of play” Boniface said, against his neighbor and enemy Dax, 40 kilometers away, contested at Parc Lescure in Bordeaux in front of a necessarily divided Landes public.