A vibrant tribute to the club icon. On the occasion of this Friday evening’s match between Stade Montois and Biarritz Olympique, counting for the 26th day of Pro D2, the Landes club paid a long tribute to the legend André Boniface who died on Monday at the age 89 years old. A minute of applause was observed Thursday and Friday on the lawns of Pro D2 in memory of the former center of Mont-de-Marsan. At the stadium which bears his name and that of his brother Guy, who died prematurely in a road accident in 1968, there were numerous tributes this Friday.
Before the match, the Mons players wore a black t-shirt with André Boniface’s famous phrase on the chest: “Aesthetics do not harm efficiency.” On their backs, the rugby players wore his favorite number 12 and his name. Stade Montois announced on X that during this match “the André and Guy Boniface stadium will vibrate with strong emotions”. The president of the National Rugby League, René Bouscatel, was present in Mont-de-Marsan and he repeated what he had declared in his official tribute: “Many players have gone down in history, few have entered into the legend. André Boniface has just accessed it for eternity.”
André Boniface won the title of French champion in 1963, the only one for the Landes club, and three Yves-du-Manoir Challenges. With the French XV, he wore the blue jersey 48 times and won four Five Nations Tournaments. André Boniface will be buried Monday in Montfort-en-Chalosse, his native village where his brother Guy also rests.