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This is a list of international rugby union players who died serving in armed forces during the First World War. Most of these came from the British Commonwealth, but a number of French international rugby players were also killed. It should also be noted that a number of major teams, whose nations were belligerents in World War I such as , , , , and had not made their international debuts at this point in time,〔The debuts of these teams were & (1932); (1929); & (1924); (1924) – Western Samoa was technically a German colony until the Treaty of Versailles, but was seized by New Zealand in 1914.〕 and the team had only been in existence for around two years prior to the war. Also, none of the Central Powers had true national rugby squads at this point although there had been rugby clubs in Germany since the late 19th century,〔Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN 1-86200-013-1) p67; the debut of was in 1927, and those of the successors of the Central Powers , , and decades after World War II〕 and the German Rugby Federation is the oldest national rugby union in ''continental'' Europe.〔 (Deutscher Rugby-Verband ) – Official Site〕 However, Germany did put forward a team for rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics (although not the 1908 tournament, which involved only two sides) – Olympic rugby was not seen as particularly prestigious – and it is not known if any of that team were war casualties. The war took an extremely heavy toll upon rugby at all levels, and this list includes some major figures, such as Dave Gallaher, who led a major All Blacks tour to the British Isles in 1905,;〔(NZEF Fatal Casualty Form 1917 (with a date of birth of 31/10/76, lowering his age by 3 years) )〕 David Bedell-Sivright, who is sometimes considered one of the greatest Scottish players of all time;〔(An entire team wiped out by the Great War ) (''The Scotsman''), retrieved 8 December 2009〕 and Ronnie Poulton-Palmer who is similarly honoured by the English;〔Starmer-Smith, p40〕 and the Frenchman Jean Bouin, better known as a middle distance runner at the 1908 Olympics as well as the 1912 Games. The first rugby international to die in World War I was France and Stade Toulousain scrum-half Alfred Mayssonnié on 6 September 1914. ==Australia== Although many rugby players were killed during the war, a large number were also injured or crippled, leading to their departure from the game. For example, the and British Isles player Tom Richards had his back and shoulders damaged by a bomb blast and suffered respiratory problems the rest of his life, from gas attacks he had experienced on the Western Front, leading to his death from TB in 1935.〔(Australian Dictionary of Biography )〕 * Harold Wesley George, died on 10 May 1915, Aged 28. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「List of international rugby union players killed in World War I」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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