 Teisseire in 1953 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1931-03-14)14 March 1931 Carcassonne, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 16 July 2025(2025-07-16) (aged 94) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Claude Teisseire (14 March 1931 – 16 July 2025), nicknamedThe Rat, was a French professionalrugby league footballer who representedFrance at the1954 Rugby League World Cup. Although he could not take part in the1951 tour of Australia and New Zealand due to a knee injury, he took part in the 1955 tour which concluded with two wins in three test matches. He played ashalfback andcentre. At club level, he played forAS Carcassonne andLézignan. For many years, he formed a formidable centre combination withGilbert Benausse. Later, he became a rugby union coach and referee.
Teisseire, while playing for Carcassonne, was called up for thefirst edition of the Rugby League World Cup in 1954, which was played inFrance. He took part in three matches of the tournament, including the final againstGreat Britain on 13 November 1954 atParc des Princes inParis in front of 30,368 spectators, won by Great Britain.
During his sports career, severalrugby union clubs tried to sign him, such asCastres,Narbonne orMazamet, but unsuccessfully, because Tesseire always preferred playing for rugby league clubs.
After his player career, he became coach and international referee, he notably refereed a match betweenGreat Britain andAustralia inPerpignan during the1972 Rugby League World Cup.
In 2003, Teisseire was inducted into theMedal of Youth and Sports by theMinister of Sports and Youth Affairs,Jean-François Lamour.
Teisseire died on 16 July 2025, aged 94.[2][3]