It was with a fair bit of in trepidation that some of our midi rugby players headed off for Châtellerault last weekend. The unknown, despite assurances that they were heading off for a great weekend, still left some with more on their mind than the rugby. Behind them, left in the car park there were also a few anxious parents and guardians, who despite the same assurances, wondered how their siblings would cope with being outside their comfort zone?

DAY 1

Settling into the journey, the older players tried to settle the nerves by taking their minds off the destination and focusing the nerves on the solo song that was required to be sung by everyone including the Coaches. I think it is fair to say that some can sing and others, well, they couldn’t hold a note if it was super glued to their tongue. It is of course the taking part that counts and most popular tunes ended with the rest of the bus singing along.

Arriving at the Ferry at 2.30am after experiencing at least three diversions off the Motorway we were allocated a 3.20am slot. Motion sickness is a terrible thing and as while some slept, the coaches thought it was best not to have their stomachs too empty just in case?

DAY 2

Back on the bus and in order to avoid the Paris morning rush hour we headed south west skirting around Boulogne and down to Rouen. Just short of Le Mans we had our breakfast where the boys got their first taste of French fayre. With Nathan Brown expressing how great his freshly made baguette was others use their money less wisely and played safe with a family size pack of Doritos or Pringles, As they say, you can take the boy out of Hamilton……

Back on the road and our next stop was just North of Châtellerault where we pulled into the services and the 49 occupants of the bus proceeded to get changed into their kilts and tour tops in the car park. It is fair to say that toots from passing cars, several photographs from other travellers, questions about who we were and why we were there and at least one old chap who just stood and watched the chaos made us the star spectacle of the afternoon for many. Team photo taken and we then made our way into Châtellerault.

A quick stop in the North of the town for more local cuisine. The coaches (not me) tried the Foie Gras on fresh baguette from the super marche and the boys had their first taste of, well……. McDonalds and Subway. As they say, ‘when in Rome’. At least they ate it.

Back in the bus with 200 Litres of bottles water and off to the town Centre for our traditional announcement that we had arrived.

Hamish MacGregor use to tell of how we marched round the town with the pipes and I naively assumed that the event was organised by the local contacts. Turns out it is what we call ‘an illegal gathering’ and would require a permit and three month’s notice in Hamilton but tradition is tradition and we continued with our ‘raid’ down through the town centre with Archie our Piper playing ‘Scotland the Brave’ out front. As we were hardly being subtle and for the avoidance of doubt, we carried an eight foot banner out in front just to ensure that no one was missed us. It appeared to work, as young players from Châtellerault RAC came up to introduce themselves while others phoned friends and families to announce that ‘Les écossais sont arrives’

Arriving at the Club we were welcomed by a few friendly faces that we have grown to know over the years and as the boys took their kit off the bus in twenty five degrees of heat there was a realisation that the weekend had really started.

We had arranged a training session first to work the stiffness out of the legs and the boys looked to enjoy getting the shorts on and a run about in the cooling evening sun. By 8pm they were showered and changed and it was time to meet our host families. As the list shortened and families were introduced most of the group disappeared off to various parts of the local region to have their first dinner with their hosts. It is funny how quiet a boy can become in the space of a couple of minutes

GAME DAY (DAY 3)

Meeting at the club in the morning most of the boys turned up with a smile on their faces, looking well slept and relieved that, guess what? The French are just the same as us! Nathan was telling us how dinner and breakfast came with lovely fresh baguettes and he looked content and well fed.

Our hosts had arranged a visit to the markets in town and while the bus took us the short distance into the Centre Ville the boys walked around the town for an hour and then via a few notable buildings in the town walked back over the river and back to the club. What was notable, was the posters in a lot of the French shops advertising our game and the Clubs 40th anniversary. It looked like there may be a bit of a crowd coming to watch?

Back to the club for Lunch and some of the boys took a little persuading to try the local fayre but it wasn’t until Nathan suggested that it was great on a bit of baguette that most of them tasted the starter of dressed carrots and eggs. The pasta, cheese and chicken went down better as the main but the Coaches all agreed that their pre match meal certainly gained a certain ‘Je sais ce que’ when four bottles of wine and a round of camembert appeared. Definitely something we should be looking at for pre match at home.

With a couple of hours to kill before the game the boys sat in the shade and hydrated with water as the mercury hit thirty degrees. Prudence added a trip to the local shop for another 100 litres of water which turned out to be absolutely necessary as the day went on. As the first match approached the crowd grew and it would be safe to say that in excess of three hundred people were at the club to watch the games.

Under 16 game

To the sound of the pipes, the boys ran out and the U16 squad took their place alongside their opponents for the National anthems. Without a doubt our fifty sang their hearts out and were every bit a match for the three hundred French. We were also in time to our music unlike our French friends who had to endure eight seconds of music after they finished singing too fast. Introductions to the Mayor and his second in command and then a minutes silence for the victims of the London attack.

With the Game starting it became clear quite quickly that Châtellerault had a size, power and slight age advantage over the Hamilton team. Despite holding on for the first 10 minutes the French eventually dotted down in the corner. As the first half went on, the pattern was the same and despite some valiant defence the French breaking through scoring 28 points without reply in the half. The second half was not going to get any easier and the heat in the day was not easing. The second half unfortunately followed the same pattern and despite a couple of breaks and good defence the trend continued with the French amassing and other 30 points without reply.

So unfortunately the U16s who had at least two 14 year olds in the squad had to take second place to skilful more dominant French team. What cannot be doubted was the heart and resolve from the Hamilton boys who fought all the way to the end and never once let the heads go down. They were a credit to their club.

U18 Game

The older squad, having watched some of the younger teams game, decided that they had a battle on their hands. Using a Saracens tactic of rousing the passions with a rendition of Tiki Tiki tonga in the changing room, the boys fired themselves up. This mental attitude showed with the National anthems as the 17 man squad belted out Flower of Scotland and again out sang the French. Then as the introductions of dignitaries finished the boys took to the pitch obviously up for the game.

To be fair the Hamilton team were the better outfit from the start. Our rugby was just better but the game had hardly gone five minutes when a kick to Phillip Gaddis’s face resulted in a straight red to one of the Châtellerault players and a nose that had to be reset, taking Phillip out the game. Scrums would now have to be uncontested which looked like being a strong point in the Hamilton game. The French boys were furious with their player but to be fair their resolve with fourteen to make a game of it, actually made them look better. It was Hamilton that scored the first two trys and despite the French kicking a penalty and scoring a converted try 10-12 to Hamilton flattered the French team a bit. Hamilton built on this with one more try before the half taking the score to 10-19.

The second half started as the first finished and Hamilton, still playing the better rugby scored again 10 minutes into the half taking the score to 10-26. You would have thought that the game could have more or less been wrapped up there but as mentioned before, the French were not finished and were playing better as a fourteen man team. Perhaps the small comfort zone in the score lulled the Hamilton team into allowing tiredness and the heat to take effect but some fantastic footwork from the Châtellerault centre gave them another 7 points with a brilliant try and easy conversion. It was obvious that it was becoming difficult for the Hamilton team to switch back into their quality game but they kept digging in. Unfortunately it was the same French centre, who, with 8 minutes to go who showed his class and skill again, to dance over the line to score close to the posts allowing the gap to shorten to 24-26.

The fight was on and in a game with of some of the most combative rugby I have seen this season it was nail biting stuff. With both teams fighting to save the game, no one can question the resolve shown by Hamilton and some of the tackles in this period were fantastic bone shuddering impacts. It was Hamilton that first secured the ball after the referee called last play and with Jordan McLean booting the ball as far as he could into touch Hamilton rescued the win in one of their most enthralling games of the season.

POST GAMES

As has become a traditional part of our relationship after the games, there was a swapping of gifts and we presented our giant birthday card to CRAC in recognition of their 40th anniversary celebrations happening this week. Signed by hundreds of people in our club it was roundly appreciated as a valued gift that symbolised our friendship. In return Hamish MacGregor was presented with a medal from the Mayor in recognition of his work over the last 22 years in driving this relationship on and ensuring that it remains a bond between the two towns. Certainly, a well deserved accolade.

As the cup presentations took place there was an appreciation by the crowd that all four teams had given their all and the term ‘friendly’ had been firmly buried for three hours to provide an afternoon of quality rugby.

It then took approximately 10 minutes from getting the kilts on before the term friendly was dug up again and the festivities ensued. Boys that fought tooth and nail not an hour before were buying each other refreshments and singing songs together. There was a carnival atmosphere as the whole crowd and players all mingled and as well as new friendships being formed, old friendships were rekindled. Players and officials that were at Hamilton two years ago and host families from six years ago when we last visited Châtellerault also appeared to say hello and ask after the boys they hosted.

The same young nervous players that left Hamilton two days before were now communicating, singing and socialising with their French hosts. Most everyone wanted a photo with a kilted Scot and all were happy to oblige.

As darkness fell, the feasting started, (perhaps a little late for some of the boys) there was lots of food and plenty of opportunity to try new types of food. With the club open till 2am most took advantage to party long into the night. There was one reveller that excelled and Dominic McRoberts not only partied till 1am at the club but then was taken by his hosts family to the all night Bingo where Dom partied with ‘two fat ladies’ until 5am.

DAY 4

After a long night partying what better way to recover than a picnic on the riverside? In a fantastic effort, all our families either provided a picnic or turned up with tables and chairs blankets and the rest of their family to provide a huge event for the Hamilton boys to experience. Again a feast of hundreds of different taste experiences in both food and drink. Nathan was in his glory as picnic obviously spells baguette in France and he just couldn’t get enough.

As the sun rose in the sky and the temperature rose with it, the temptation of the river became too much and some of the Boys took a small dip. Some of the French mums were heard to comment about a ‘tiny weeny tonga’ but I think they just misheard the lyrics the day before.

Out the river and back on the bus, the Hamilton party had a visit to the theatre next. Châtellerault’s 180 year old refurbished theatre has been renovate but using all the existing features and the boys and coaches learned about how to change the sets and how to raise the curtain. They also learned about the social tiers between the different areas of the theatre and the fact that they are probably not the worst crowd to have sat in the cheap seats.

As the previous night antics started to show and the boys got tired the visit to the transport and metalwork museum while very interesting, allowed the boys to chill out and wander round at their own pace. The history behind Châtellerault’s forge, the part it played in the making of armaments for centauries and the issues this cause for the region during the German occupation was very interesting. It also reminded us why bringing cultures together is so important, to allow our youth to understand, that while different in some ways, we have more in common than we ever differ about.

Arriving back at the club a lot of the boys found out that they were going to the Lake to swim before dinner. Some of the coaches found that they were going swimming in various houses that had pools and I found out that a kilt takes a bit of thought on a the back of a motorbike. My driver found out that his motor bike goes a lot slower with me on the back than it does with his daughter. Irrespective everyone safely had their final dinner with their hosts and most tried to get the last night of good sleep before our bus journey home. The night finished with Nathan, sadly, posting a picture of his last two baguettes and Dom checking if anyone was up for the bingo.

DAY 5

Bright and early and all the boys are dropped off at the club by their families, a lot of them bearing gifts from France. We say our farewells and depart the club for the last time on this fantastic trip. We headed round to the local supermarket for the boys to buy provisions for the journey, crisps, sweets, juice, water and of course taking advantage of the two pillows for six euro offer. It was with a little bemusement that the cashier double checked that the pillows were not for the next person in the queue. Back on board and we were finally leaving the town of Châtellerault.

PARIS

With Châtellerault lying three hours South of Paris and on one of our possible routes home, it would make no sense not to allow the boys to experience the unique atmosphere of France’s capital city. Unfortunately, as we were caught up in the traffic on the peripherique news came through that there had been an evacuation of the Louvre. With no other information available immediately as to why, or how serious an incident it was, we took the decision quickly to keep the boys on the bus and do a bus tour of the main sights.

What we had not fully appreciated was that our bus driver was in his glory having stayed in Paris and having toured the city in buses for 40 years. It took him two second to realise that a bus party of teenage boys might require a special approach. He proceeded to engage the boys with the 'dobber' tour of 'aw they mad hings in Paris like!'

With a 5 lap tour of the The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in the style of a roller coaster ride and a tour past all the main sites in Paris for a photo, it turned out to be best option anyway. The boys now know that Napoleon built a lot of the main sights in Paris, how the Louvre managed to save its works of art during the war, why McDonalds sign is white and not gold on the Champs Elysee, where Jonny Depp has a flat and the fact that motor cyclists are called organ donors. Which is pretty much everything that you need to know about Paris!

As we were travelling down Champs Elysee towards the Place De La Concorde he asked the boys if they knew what a guillotine was? The bold Dylan, shouts out ‘something to cook with’ admittedly there was a ripple of laughter. Donald then though he would throw in his classic question that he has confused tourists with for 40 years and has never solicited the correct answer once. He explained that there was a church in a small square called ‘La Madeleine’ it had no windows but it had 52 Greek style columns around the outside. Feeling confident given the last answer, he asks ‘can anyone tell me the significance of the 52 columns?’ Barely a second had passed before Dylan was in there with ‘to hold the roof up!’ BOOM, the distraught Donald will now have to find another question, or explain that only one person in forty years has got it right. Who would have known that Dylan was an expert in Greek style architecture?

Seriously Donald, our driver, was fantastic and has been every bit as important in this tour as anyone else. A massive thanks to him and Parks for supplying him as our driver.

We arrived in Calais around 7.30pm, finally after a stop for lunch in a service station. Based on a few of the passports it was amazing that some of them got through customs. You tend to look a little different when you are about nine years old. We had a little wait for the next ferry but the boys used the time productively with a large game of ‘Barca Ball’ (one touch rugby) in the car park, to the amusement of our fellow ferry passengers. Onto the boat and the final meal of the trip and a little shopping for gifts to take home.

DAY 6

It is fair to say that there is no possible way of getting comfy on a bus and sleep tends to come from exhaustion rather than finding it natural to doze off. Personally I found it difficult to convince my fellow coaches that I had hardly go a wink as mistakenly,(I am sure) they accused me of snoring. As daylight crept into the bus the exhaustion had obviously had won the day and most of the boys were out for the count.

Arriving back at the club at 8am it was great to see a few of the parents entering into the spirit and suggesting that the boys could still make school. To be fair to the boys that would not have ended well, I don’t think?

THANK YOU

Can I thank all the coaches, parents, organisers and helpers at Hamilton that made this happen. Can I thank the French Families that looked after our boys and entourage. Who took them in, fed them and made them feel one of the family. Can I especially thank the Châtellerault RAC committee who worked so hard with us to provide our boys with the adventure of a lifetime, they are truly exceptional.

WHY WE DO IT?

So why do we keep this relationship going and why is it important that we continue to keep it going? What is the purpose?

While we play rugby, it is not all about the sport. The sport is the vessel we use to make these young men confident as they go into the world. It allows them to grow, find new friends in their team and be confident enough to walk up to a complete stranger and offer a hand in friendship and start a conversation. Maybe that initial conversation is about rugby but as has been shown in the last week, by the friend requests, pictures, and the fact that some of the players from six years ago even came back to say hello that the final picture could be a lifelong friendship.

With so many divisive, negative messages happening in the world, having a bus load of young players return from another culture with a positive impression of that culture, will allow these boys to hopefully recognise the similarities, rather than the differences we have. Rugby is an inclusive sport and we should all be proud of our sport.

In two years, Châtellerault will be visiting Hamilton. The building starts now so that we can continue to develop young players into well balanced individuals and show why our sport is so special.

Jusque là

Ross