It's rare to find a cemetery warden who is happy, but Patrick Gilli claims to be exactly that. His trendy appearance will take you by surprise straightaway. At first glance, this strapping 40-year-old could be taken for a rapper or Instagram influencer. It's hard to believe that he's the gatekeeper for this world of shadows. "I can tell you, I am really happy here. This place is amazing," he said, stepping through the heavy gates of Vieux-Château cemetery in the hills above Menton, the last town on the Côte d'Azur in southeastern France before the Italian border. After a few paces, we understood why our guide loved this place so much. Simply put, it's magical. The steep site plunges toward the blue waters of the Mediterranean, offering an unforgettable view: Ventimiglia (Italy) to the east, Monaco to the west and eternity in the shade of cypress trees. It's easy to feel right at home here.

Menton's oldest cemetery is not just a peaceful haven for melancholy strollers. As Gilli said with a smile, it's also "the place to be." His English has been rapidly improving. He hasn't had any choice since he has to guide the rugby fans who have been flocking to the grave of William Webb Ellis, the creator of rugby, who died in 1872 at the age of 66. Many of these fans, some of whom have traveled a long way to attend matches at the World Cup in France, have been eager to pay their respects to their hero buried at Vieux-Château.

One day in the fall of 1823, 16-year-old William, a pupil at the prestigious private boarding school in Rugby, a small town in central England, was taking part in a game of soccer on the Big Side, a pitch as rough as the clashes between the players. It was at that moment that this accomplished but stubborn student of Latin would do something from which there was no going back. He seized the ball (which was legal at the time), but instead of stepping backward − as required by the rules − to prepare his kick toward the opposing side, he charged forward under the stunned gaze of his fellow pupils and scored in the end zone. At the school, there is a plaque commemorating this original move, which it notes was undertaken "with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time."

Ball made from pig bladder

Even though no serious historian has validated this founding myth, the town of Rugby was to become over the years the kingdom of rugby. Around 1835, shoemaker William Gilbert, whose shop was just a stone's throw from the school, invented the rugby ball. It was initially made using a pig's bladder, but this has since been replaced by a rubber inner tube. Ten years later, several "Rugbaeans" laid down the first 37 rules of the new sport. Finally, in 1871, alumni of the school founded the Rugby Football Union and decided that the England national team would wear a white outfit similar to that of the school's team.

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