A little over a month after the death of André Boniface, French rugby has lost another of its legends. During the night from Sunday to Monday, Lucien Mias, former second line of the XV of France, lost his life. The former geriatric specialist was 93 years old.
In a press release called “Goodbye Doctor Pack”, his nickname, the French Rugby Federation paid tribute to him: “Lucien Mias, one of the figures of French rugby, 400th international in the history of French rugby, has left us. He began his career in 1951 and had 29 caps. He was the captain during arguably the most memorable tour of the French XV to South Africa in 1958.”
One before you have to
During this famous South African tour, Lucien Mias brought several innovations to the French forwards’ game. In particular the “half-turn contact” technique, during which he crossed the opposing advantage line then administered percussion with his back turned before passing the ball. He was one of his very physical forwards, who hardly tried to handle the ball.
With the French XV, he won the Five Nations Tournament twice: first in 1954, then in 1959. Although he was never French champion with his club Mazamet, he still won the Yves-du-Manoir challenge in 1958. A schoolteacher in his youth, he then undertook medical studies, hence his famous nickname “Doctor Pack”.
