Strange but true

Another piece of fascinating (sic) rugby miscellany which rises to the surface of this blog from time to time...

According to legend, French rugby player Gaston Vareilles contrived to miss his international debut against Scotland in 1910 thanks to the lure of a sandwich.

When his team's train stopped at Lyon en route to Paris, Monsieur Vareilles decided to hop out to the buffet. Unfortunately, however, the queue at the caféteria was rather long and he returned to the the platform, sandwhich in hand, to find the train disappearing over the horizon.

Vareille was replaced in the French team that day by sprinter André Franquenelle (who had turned up as a spectator) and was never selected to play for France again. Franquenelle, meanwhile, won two more caps for France.