Le Coq Tour

11th to 14th April, 2008

This year’s tour took us to the heartlands of French rugby in South-west France, to the small medieval market town of Sainte Foy la Grande. It was at this club that David Pottinger played 26 years ago, and his contacts made the trip possible. Twenty four eager lads and 12 nervous dads set off from Stansted to Bergerac, where we were met by the redoubtable Jean-Claude Dupeyron, know to all as Coco, retired station master and prop in David’s team of ’82. Coco accompanied us to our billet, a local schools’ training centre, 10 minutes south of Sainte Foy. Coco and his organising committee looked after us like royalty.

One forward who shall remain nameless was the early recipient of the rubber chicken “Le Coq”, having left his boots at home – “I thought my bag was a bit light…”

The lads were pressed into a light training session on the first evening, led by “Colonel Coq” on the main pitch. The two pitches here had superb playing surfaces – nicely cropped springy green turf with little or no damage – brilliant.

Most of the party took an early night ahead of what promised to be a tough game the following day. The ones who didn’t should have known better.


Each match was preceded by a “light lunch”, taken at 11:30 in the Stade Foyen clubhouse. This may have been a secret weapon – piles of pâté, cold meats and a tasty hot dish were set in front of the lads. The chef Bebert, pictured next to Coco received a standing ovation at the presentations on Saturday for the splendid food he prepared for us.

MATCH REPORTS

First match, 12 April 2008

Stade Foyen vs. Cambridge

Played under near-perfect conditions on probably the best pitch we’ve played on all season, this match was the curtain raiser for the SF Colts’ game.

The match was played in 3 periods of 20 minutes, on a pitch narrowed by 10 metres, in order to encourage the “French game”. Add to that 12-man teams (no fullback or flankers) and uncontested scrums, and Cambridge had to adapt, and adapt quickly. Tom Sweeney captained the team for the opening game.

Mike Green kicked off with a high ball down the centre and Stade immediately went wide. Stade recycled the ball from the first ruck and found touch. The scene was set, with the Stade backs running at Cambridge and making good use of tactical kicking. The learning curve continued with the Cambridge forwards having to quickly adapt to a 2-man line, with the SF hooker throwing a long ball to be collected by a back-row at speed. However, Cambridge soon got the hang of that!

It took a few minutes for Stade to get into the groove - their backs did drop a few balls. The aerial game continued and Tom Carpenter took a high ball on the bounce and raced off down the left wing, only to fall foul of the narrowed pitch. Cambridge were now looking forward to the first scrum, where they should theoretically have had an advantage. Enter the next part of the French continuum – the 6-man uncontested scrum. Cambridge were set to win all their scrums and keep the ball up-front.

The next lineout was ours, so we used all available forwards, and only just won our own ball, only to concede another after a knock-on. Stade duly won the ball and their backs surged a good 50m towards our line, only to be bundled into touch. Cambridge won this line but lost the ball in the next ruck. Stade didn’t waste any time and their big backs forced through several tackles and scored in the corner. They didn’t even need their 2-man overlap. The drop-kick conversion failed and the score was 5-0.

Stade then attacked right off the restart but some poor handling gave Cambridge another scrum. Scrum-half Hamish Pottinger executed a nice box kick, caught deftly on the bounce by a speeding Tom Carpenter, who ran around the napping Stade defence to score under the posts. Captain Sweeney missed the conversion and the score levelled at 5-5. Stick to propping, Tom!

Stade restarted directly to Mike Green, who was well tackled. Stade kept pushing, pinning Cambridge in their 22 and forcing mistakes - too many players committed to the breakdown and too much turnover ball. Stade seized on one such turnover and one of their irrepressible backs scored again in the corner. 10-5 and the first session ended, but with Cambridge very much in touch.

Stade started the 2nd session, quickly regained possession and ran relentlessly at Cambridge. They were playing the French game, and still had plenty of energy. The next points soon went to Stade, and this time they converted, pushing their lead out to 17-5.

Tom Cosnett replaced Mike at fly-half and restarted with a high kick, only to see Stade reply with a long kick, well taken by Angus Mack who cleared the lines. Unfortunately Stade won the ensuing lineout, spun wide and evaded our tackles to score again, and convert again. 24-5.

Soon after the restart Cambridge stole a lineout, and Tom Sweeney rumbled forward and was slowly brought to a halt. Play became a bit messy and the ball changed possession more than once. In spite of this prolonged mêlée, Cambridge seemed to be finding their feet, but there was still some jittery handling. Then the heavens opened - the weather man had been right all along. Cambridge took advantage of the downpour and kept the ball tight. Chris Newbery saw a chance and darted round the blind-side only to be caught, but the ball was recycled to Chris Ward, who scored in his borrowed boots. Tom Cosnett converted and we looked to be recovering. 24-12.

After their restart Cambridge changed up another gear and began to string some passes together. All the backs were involved and the ball was coming our way in the loose. Chris Ward went over only to be held up, and Stade won their 5m scrum and cleared down to half way. The second period ended with Cambridge in the ascendancy.

The 3rd session started and Cambridge were clearly enjoying themselves and the forwards were showing aggression. Messrs Jackson, Danischewsky, Ritchie and Kaill were using their weight in a concerted forward direction, and any losses were quickly made good. Tom Grace played his part, recycling the ball to Mike Green who applied his weight and scored. The score was now 24-17; was there time to pull level and even win the game?

The rain was heavier than ever but Cambridge kept attacking, with Peter Tasker recycling the ball from the wing on more than one occasion. Stade were tiring and their decision-making was suffering. Their next line-out was a 5-4-3-2-3-man affair, but it didn’t help them as they conceded more possession. Cambridge’s last chance came from a 5m scrum, but our ball-carrier was forced out and the final whistle blew.
Our hosts won the opening game by a single try, and the Cambridge boys came off the pitch in high spirits, having taken the game to the hard-running French team and very nearly succeeded.

Dads’ time out

After the first game a party of dads headed off to the vaults to sample the regional vintages. This was obligatory and a gesture of solidarity with local culture. We get so much propaganda about new world wines that one tends to forget that France still produces some of the world’s best wines. This is a passionate part of the world – rugby, food, wine – what more could a man reasonably desire? Yes, I know what you’re thinking, but we were only there for 3 days and we were looking after 24 teenage boys – by 1:00 am we were tired...

That evening our hosts laid on a celebratory meal at their clubhouse. Gifts and speeches were lavishly exchanged, with Coco enjoying his first yard of ale. The club joint-presidents Marie-Claude Besse and Dominique Descombe were there, also the Nord Gironde Coach (also U16 coach at Stade Foyen) Philippe Roy. The lads gave Chef Bebert a standing ovation for keeping them so well fed.

Second match, 13 April 2008

Nord Gironde (regional selection) vs. Cambridge

This match was the curtain-raiser for the Stade Foyen senior relegation battle, and was always going to be a very tough challenge. After the previous day’s game the boys were all rested and ready, and expecting to play some seriously competitive rugby.

The same rules applied in this game, with one exception, more of which later.

Cambridge started carefully but lost their first line-out to a much taller opposition. Unlike Stade the day before, the NG team used tactical kicking from the outset. To our relief Cambridge won their next line-out and it was their turn to kick for territory. We were keeping NG inside their own half, but the cork wouldn’t go into the bottle and NG tossed the ball wide and scored in front of the try-line! This was the new rule, well understood by the home side but somehow not explained to the baffled and indignant visitors. After considerable arm waving plus some deft diplomacy from Le Pottinger the ref was persuaded to disallow the try and award Cambridge a scrum. The learning curve just got steeper. NG were obviously not impressed and quickly riposted with a real try. 5-0. Entente cordiale was intact.

Cambridge restarted but were finding the NG backs rather a handful. We hoped they would run out of steam. NG used a 2-man line-out but Matt Mercer read the situation well and grabbed the ball, only to knock-on and return the initiative to NG. The ball went wide and their diminutive centre darted through to make the score 10-0.

The first session continued with Cambridge attempting to keep the ball and drive down the middle. For a while they seemed to be stemming the tide.

The second session began scrappily, with more kicking pressure from NG and a defensive touchdown by Cambridge. NG then broke through for two more power tries and suddenly Cambridge were trailing 24-0.
Cambridge responded with more accurate tactical kicking, forcing NG back to their 5m line. Bradley McLean took charge and attacked strongly but the ball turned over and NG cleared long and hard. Their backs ran on to a loose ball and broke several tackles to extend their lead to 31-0.

But still the Cambridge heads refused to drop. Hector Dearman was tackling and running well and helped Cambridge wrest the initiative from NG. But it couldn’t last and at the next opportunity NG threw the ball around, with some fast flat passes, and pushed the score to 36-0.

During the 2nd interval Wayne Powell used all his years of rugby wisdom to convince the boys that they could still win. So, with fifteen minutes to go Cambridge threw everything at the hosts. From the restart Tom Sweeney flattened the ball taker, Bradley McLean picked up the loose ball and swerved through to score. Angus Mack converted and at last we were on the board, 36-7.

NG kicked off and Cambridge retained the ball. Their confidence was boosted and Cap’n Sweeney even tried his hand at scrum half. Energy levels increased again – second and third wind – and lost balls were quickly regained with hard tackles and good hands. Cambridge were gelling up front. NG tried to respond in kind but rather ineffectively, and they seemed to be losing confidence in spite of their long lead. The Cambridge forwards pushed to within 2m of the NG “line” and the ball popped out to Angus, then to Mike Green who scored and narrowed the gap to 36-12.

The game is nearly over and the reporter is flagging. Cambridge now had majority possession, but such was the intensity of the Cambridge fight-back that Hamish Pottinger’s skull met Tom Sweeney’s nose and the latter left the pitch nursing a broken nose and two glorious black eyes. In the confusion NG slipped in an extra try and make the score 41-12.

One last rally and Cambridge threw everything at NG, including the kitchen sink. Line-out calls of “Waterloo 2” seemed to work and Cambridge continued to kick and chase as if their lives depended on it. In the dying moments of the games Toby Dean scored after the ball passed through at least 6 pairs of hands and the whistle blew. Cambridge still had breath but the game was over. The final score was 41-17 and the teams went off to loud cheers from players and supporters.

The Cambridge lads adapted to the French game and the new rules, and responded in fine spirit. They did the game and CRUFC proud and provided a thrilling spectacle for spectators. So much so that Stade Foyen are keen to visit Cambridge next year and to encourage further tours.

Apart from a couple of heavy showers playing conditions were ideal. The pitches were excellent – surprisingly green with virtually no bare patches, and none on the 1st team pitch. The sides were evenly matched in the first game, and once Cambridge had adapted to the local rules had the beating of the regional side in the 2nd game.

The Monday after

On the Monday after the rugby, we went of to a hilltop vineyard owned and operated by Mr Charles Martin, Château de La Colline (details supplied – well worth a visit if you’re in the area. Thanks to Hal Wilson for organising this). The lads were a bit ho-hum about this, but after squeezing the bus through narrow lanes (and losing a bit of plastique en route) we were treated to a passionate, amusing and candid view of winemaking in a foreign land – Charles hails from Abergavenny – and we all sampled his wares and were converted to French wine.

And as if that were not enough, we went to a country restaurant and savoured their menu à €12, which was an absolute delight. We had to leave in a hurry and got to Bergerac aerodrome just in time.

And finally…
And so ended a truly memorable tour. Simon “Le Tour” Danischewsky and his aides de camp can all sleep well, knowing that all the hard work in planning the tour had been worthwhile.

An enormous thankyou must go not only to the Cambridge organising team, but also to Coco, who, with his friends at Stade Foyen made us so so welcome. We are enormously grateful to the sponsors who supported us - Bell Educational Trust, BDO Stoy Hayward LLP, Cambridge Wines and Eversheds LLP – with tour kitbags, T-shirts and tour polo shirts.

Postscript (translated from the French)

From Coco, our Stade Foyen host.

“Hello David, you know, friendships are never forgotten and it is perfectly natural that we should welcome you all properly. Thanks to all the adults and boys who came, they were all exceedingly well mannered and kind. The whole Sainte Foy family was delighted to have you."

…and from the Stade Foyen website (see Actualite):

" Thanks also to David Pottinger, to the Cambridge officials and young players from this great English club for the exemplary way in which they conducted themselves. Of course you did not manage to beat, the brave youngsters of Sainte Foy or the Nord Gironde team but, although winning is important on the day, the skill, sportsmanship, and friendship which rugby can foster, are far more enduring."

Appendix, for the trivia hounds
Prop:             pilier
Hooker:          talonneur
Second row:   deuxième line
Flanker:          troisième ligne aile
Number 8:      troisième ligne centre
Scrum half:     demi de mêlée
Fly half:          demi d'ouverture
Winger:          ailier
Centre :          trois-quarts centre
Fullback:        arrière