Puig Aubert was born Robert Aubert Puig on the 24th March 1925. He is a French Immortal winning 5 premierships, 4 knock-out competitions and representing France on 46 occasions.
Pipette was a fullback that changed the rules forever.
In a game that had unlimited tackles, and with the focus on holding the ball, Pipette would kick it.
Chip and chases were never seen before.
Pipette was also known to:
- smoke cigarettes during the game
- at times not bothering to tackle an opponent (he’s the fullback. It was the forwards job to do that)
- drink glasses of red wine at halftime
- leave hand written poems in the opposition’s in-goal area after scoring a try to antagonise them
I kid you not. Who could not love this guy?
On the 1951 tour of Australia/New Zealand, he played 25 of France’s 29 matches and scored 221 points. Remember, this was back in the days where tries were worth 3 points.
For the record, France beat Australia 2-1.
Pipette was his first countryman to be awarded the Champion of Champions title in any sporting code and inducted in the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 1988.
Puig Aubert died 3rd June 1994 and a bronze statute was commissioned six years later at his home ground Stade Albert Domec.
Below are his stats as well as a links to his Wikipedia page and the 1951 tour.
You will want to read more about him and don’t forget to toast with a glass of red.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puig_Aubert
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951_French_rugby_league_tour_of_Australia_and_New_Zealand
