Charles Mathon

Charles Mathon, (Oyonnax, 1 December 1905 – assassinated during World War II in Druillat, 9 June 1944), was a rugby union and an international rugby league player in the 1920s and 1930s.

Whilst growing up in Oyonnax, he discovered rugby union and played for C.S. Oyonnax. Over the next ten years, he was the scrum half of this club, alongside Captain Georges Ofidan. He settled into their half-backs with the latter from the age of 17 and took an active part in the success of the club which he led to integrate the elite of the French Rugby Union Championship at the end of the 1920s. He tried a single season at U.S. Bressane before returning to C.S. Oyonnax and closed his chapter in rugby union in 1934. Often cited in the preselections, he never won an international cap for the France team.

Approached by Jean Galia in March 1934, who launched the rugby league code in France, Charles Mathon denounced the fake amateurism that raged in the world of rugby union and which he himself was confronted with. He then decided to join the inaugural tour of the French rugby league selection in England called "Les Pionniers" and took part in the first official meeting of the French team in April 1934. He joined the newly created club, the U.S. Lyon-Villeurbanne, for two seasons, of which he took the captaincy and with which he won the Coupe de France in 1935. He retired from sport in 1936.

During the World War II, he joined the Resistance and consolidated an active network. He was assassinated in June 1944 in troubling circumstances against a backdrop of quarrels between resistance groups. The town of Oyonnax named its rugby stadium in his memory, Stade Charles-Mathon, at the end of the war. Oyonnax Rugby still plays there today.

Childhood, youth and rugby union star at C.S. Oyonnax
Charles Mathon was born in Oyonnax, nicknamed the « Museum of the Comb ». He's the son of Charles Mathon (1879-?), worker in the manufacture of comb, and Marie Morel (1883-1935), housewife. He married for the first time the 12 August 1926 with Gabrielle Alliata (1907-1928), commercial employee, then a second time the 28 April 1932 with Marcelle Besson (1910-1995), also commercial employee.

1923-1930 : Charles Mathon makes his career in rugby union at CS Oyonnax which he takes to the French championship and is very close to the French team
Charles Mathon grew up in the town of Oyonnax and devoted from an early age to rugby union. He thus joined the city's flagship club: the red devils of CS Oyonnax. He made his debut at the age of seventeen as a scrum half following the injury of Gilbert Augon, the usual holder of this position. His debut was promising and Mathon quickly became a starter for this club, it is a good club in the Lyonnais Championship with the C.S. Vienne. From the year 1923-1924, he made up the hinge of this team with his captain and opening half Georges Orfidan. The CS Oyonnax in these years fight for integrate the French Championship.

During the 1924-1925 season, before celebrating his twenties, he took the role of captaincy of CS Oyonnax from G. Orfidan and now successfully organized the game around him despite not qualifying to compete in the French Championship. That year, he made his debut in occasional selections, for example one called the Haut-Jura selection bringing together the best players from the FC Saint-Claude, CS Vienne, including Jean Etcheberry and CS Oyonnax to face English club Cambridge University.

The following year, in March 1926, he was called up to join the French army team while he was serving in the 47th artillery regiment, where he met Joseph Pascot, Yves du Manoir and Raoul Bonamy and he make a game noticed by observers despite the defeat against their English counterparts. In May 1926, he made the tour of the French army team in Romania where he also distinguished himself and was cited as one of the best players. He also joins the Lyonnais selection in end-of-season made up of the best players from Saint-Claude, CS Bourgoin-Jallieu, Lyon O.U., Vienne and FC Lyon, whose captain is J. Etcheberry. Following these meetings, C. Mathon was approached by many clubs to recruit him, first of all the Parisian club Stade français which entered into discussions with the player but Mathon didn't give follow-up, as well as the Stade dijonnais.

The start of the 1926-1927 season confirms the efficiency and the attraction of the hinge of Oyonnax composed of C. Mathon and G. Orfidan who constitute the soul of this team. The club is now multiplying the blows of splinters in the Lyonnais championship and is becoming an increasingly tough opponent and twice was a finalist in the Lyonnais Championship in 1926 and 1927 against the Lyon O.U. He kept his status as a military international in 1927 and was now part of the Longvic aviation team in the Air Force, ainsi que de l'armée française He retained his military international status in 1927 and was now part of Longvic's aviation team in the Air Force, to which he declined selection following the death of his son.

The 1927-1928 season brings more hope for CS Oyonnax whose young players trained by the club are gradually reaching maturity. C. Mathon is the figurehead and despite these qualities showcase by the press, he is ignored by the coaches of the team of France. The club has narrowly failed each season for promotion to the French Championship despite convincing victories. C. Mathon then points the finger at arbitration decisions, in particular with regard to Lyon clubs, which earned him a six-month suspension in February 1928 by the Lyonnais committee, putting an end to Oyonnax's ambitions at the end of the season.

He found his way back to the lawns at the start of the school year in September 1928 and remained a reference cited for the position of scrum-half on the national level just like during the 1929-1930 season when CS Oyonnax finally managed to dominate the Lyonnais Championship thanks to a performance alignment where C. Mathon regularly cited as the best player in the meetings. He also finds the selection of the Lyonnais where he is also cited as one of the best players by showing himself to be the initiative of many attacks, and was finally called up at the end of 1929 to the national team to play friendly matches and position himself as a possible international. The Oyonnax club rose in power that season at the start of 1930 and achieved performances noticed by the press, with a hinge experienced C. Mathon-G Orfidan. Thus, CS Oyonnax qualified for the group of nine of the French Championship, a first for C. Mathon, and face big clubs accustomed to national matches : le CA Périgueux, le RC Toulon, le Stade toulousain et le Stade français, but only the last three named qualify for the next round.

1930-1931 : little interlude at the US Bressane
1930-1931 is the season chosen by C. Mathon to leave CS Oyonnax and join US Bressane de Bourg-en-Bresse which is also competing in the Lyonnais Championship. However, he retains his place in the Lyonnais selection of which he is one of the key elements in the victory of this selection in the Maori Cup. He accompanies the club in the French Championship, eliminated in the poule des cinq by the SU Agen, the US Dax et the CS Vienne.

1931-1934 : Charles Mathon returns to CS Oyonnax and brushes the French team again
Charles Mathon returns to CS Oyonnax, which therefore finds its captain in October 1931 after a year in Bourg-en-Bresse. The French Rugby Federation suffered a fracture within it with the constitution of the Union française de rugby amateur, upsetting the national team. In December 1931, C. Mathon was called up to the French team to determine the holders for this year 1932 during a selection match in Clermont-Ferrand. The coaches decide to test him for the position of hooker which he had never exercised in his career. After part of this meeting in this position where he seems lost, he is repositioned as an opening half with more success. During the following match, in Brive-la-Gaillarde, he was then put into the halfback and rubbed shoulders on the field Max Rousié, Jean Galia, Marius Guiral et Joseph Choy. The coaches finally decide that Mathon will not be in hinge, betting the duo Rousié-Édouard Coulon, but named Mathon like replacing in the event of withdrawal of one of the two; however, he disputed a meeting of the XV of France against RC Toulon in January 1932 but at the post of Flanker. With Oyonnax, he achieved a rather successful season, even with which he won in particular against his former club US Bressane and is presented as the soul of this team. He took part in the French Championship where the club was eliminated in poule de cinq against the US Thuir, the US Quillan, the Racing CF et the FC Oloron. On the French team side, Max Rousié started alongside Antonin Barbazanges on 17 4 1932 against the Germany, letting C. Mathon on the bench.

Resounding departure in rugby league in March 1934
In March 1934, the banished from the French Rugby Union Federation, Jean Galia, decided to set up the first rugby league team in France in connection with the English Rugby League Federation and to tour there. In this initiative, he contacts many players banned or in difficulty with the rugby union system because of false amateurism. Charles Mathon, having experienced many canvassings from upscale clubs such as Stade Français during his career, hears and shares these same arguments around this general hypocrisy. He lets himself be convinced by Galia who has come on the Lyonnais before the tour to see him as well as Laurent Lambert. C. Mathon joined this team, then called Les Pionniers, and denounces in the press the practices in French rugby union. Never selected in the France team, the selection committee had even allowed itself to make him play on the positions of hooker or prop in selection meetings when his talent in scrum half was no longer to be demonstrated according to the press. C. Mathon then reported in the press on numerous proposals by Lyon clubs, including the double-champion of France in 1932 and 1933, Lyon OU, which to bring him to play did not hesitate to offer him significant financial advances and jobs, accusations immediately denied by the club cited while its recent success is due to the recruitment of many players from the South of France and surrounding areas.

Rugby league

 * Coupe de France :
 * Champions (1) : 1935 (Lyon-Villeurbanne).