This passionate group of rugby players quickly immersed themselves in the rugby on offer. We attended three World Cup matches, including Australia versus Wales, and watched countless others at l’auberge de jeunesse. Although the results were not as hoped for the Wallabies, the boys were keen to demonstrate their own skills in the two tour fixtures.
The first was in Annecy, a three try apiece thriller, in the picturesque lakeside town. During this two-day escapade in Annecy, our boys discovered on a cycling adventure why the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is home to some of the most gruelling stages of Le Tour. The second match, against Clamart Rugby 92, on the outskirts of Paris, saw us hold a narrow lead at half-time before we sequenced a series of entertaining passages which resulted in us accelerating away from our hosts to a conclusive victory on French soil.
Throughout the séjour, the boys witnessed artworks from Gauguin and Renoir, sat amazed in the Roman amphitheatres, strode down les Champs Élysées and enjoyed the Parisian rooftops from le Sacré Coeur; however, the daily visit to the local boulangeries may have been the most memorable of their experiences. Keen to test their language skills, the boys’ confidence grew as the tour progressed and locals were impressed by the exchanges they had in the language of Molière.
