Sussex Rugby - Heathfield & Waldron RFC - British Rugby Club de Paris Dieppe report

	Monday, September 04, 2006

British Rugby Club de Paris Dieppe report

Below is the British Rugby Club de Paris report from Dieppe which mentions our very own valiant Boars...

When I raised the bridesmaid trophy to the crowd, I saw pride in the eyes of BRFC's, then respect in other teams eyes, and I finally understood that, somewhere, we hadn't lost everything...

... Then flashes came back to my mind: Guy Grundy tackling sharply a Romanian 8 more than twice his weight going to the try line, Dave Mac Donagh & Eric Morell charging Brighton Rocks (was it from Joyce?), Arnaud Sautel and Rick Urquahrt playing like hornets, Yeti being the Tour eagle once more, Pete Mac Gahan discovering a new future as a decent prop, almost slapping a vampire prop, John Lloyd looking like a wild boar in mauls, injured Simon Goddard, beer in hand and cigarette in mouth running back to his car to take his kit to play the Romanians,

The forgotten "tchak" sound of Justin Southcombe tackles, cutting Brighton backs like oaks in Nottingham, Fred Bounous flying to support and deliver properly our last ball of the final, Eudes Le Gars back in business scoring the last conversion of the tournament, Lolo Cassotti finally awakening for the final, Christopher Bayle being himself... BP's cousins not believing BRFC experience... Roissies... Max, small Rick, Oli, and Resteg, what can I write without being accused of favouritism!

I can't forget this time to add something about our gals & kids, who shamelessly outnumber us for two years now, screaming support all along the tournament, managing to be seen but unheard when needed, would you believe that? We had to the honour to count in our squad Emily's Southcombe to be father, "who played for England", Neil Ackerman, name which, translated in French by the mike officer, became something like Gene Hackman! He smiled the way Justin did years ago when I told him his name meant "le peigne du sud" in French.

The morning after, I was chatting on the beach with Rick & John, kids running on the sand taking their clothes off before breaking the waves, mothers yelling behind, some players upon us around Derek hanging over on the promenade, and I felt eternity... an awfully nice feeling when you're on Dieppe Tour, because you're simply not able to imagine anymore that you'll be at work Tuesday! Decent sun, a club shared slight hangover, some beers to come before the closing lunch composed of beef ribs garnished with confited spring potatoes, a Bas Armagnac 65 to sip, and flashbacks showed up:

I knew there would be at least an English and a French team coming to play for the wood piece, plus the Romanians. I would have bet on Heatfield Waldron RFC (last year winner) or Weston Super Mare, Pontault Combault (ex Fédérale 2), and secretly prayed to avoid the vampires in our group (as last year finalist we would be head series and Bucharest not because they weren't qualified): I was wrong on everything!

Having been, well, almost serious the night before, we started versus an unknown Newick RFC team, a bit stressed because most of us didn't know each other (BRFC, BP, Roissy), and smashed them: 8 tries to 0, tremendous collective actions, a serious start up which would give all its capital result at the end of the day. Big Eric finally reached Dieppe to help us beating a rough Plaisir RC, a former winner but not competing anymore, final score 4 to 1 with some slaps.

At the end of the day we faced what would have been a real quarterfinal for every club of the tournament: Dynamo Bucharest, the cops club from Romania Head city, composed of several former internationals, including one who played in the team who beat France in 92 for the only time. We got blood, sweat and joy by making a draw with them, qualifying us thanks to our goal average because Newick just lost 3 to 2 vs. them (there's no small English team!).

We defended our try line like British soldiers in Kipling songs, Yeti being awesome and giving the tone to everybody, with Derek and the girls kids tribe almost across the side line supporting us, breaking glass and attracting the whole mass of spectators to our pitch line.

Qualified for semi final for the third year in a row, we discovered that RC Auxerre, a long time tournament patron composed of a bunch of violent and drunk players (ex Fédérale 2) was this time ready and sober, then that Weston was there and not surprisingly the Brighton Calypsos, for their 12th appearance in 12 years was qualified too; I write not surprisingly because the were in the tent next to ours, almost 30 blokes, most of them 20 stones, some giants around 2 meters, and a brand new kit specially made for the tour, which is always a message when you know English clubs. Thanks to their letters at the jerseys backs instead of numbers, BRFC frogs didn't realize that some of the giants were backwards! The years before they usually showed up 10 or 12, begging for players to every team, being mercenaries the second day for every team as well.

Evening was quiet, everybody in bed around midnight, gals mob escaping to casino when we showed up, again unsurprisingly we already knew we would play Auxerre, because tournament committee, as every French in this case, whishing absolutely to avoid 2 teams from Albion in the final, made Brighton play Weston.

Semi final was rather different from our past games versus Auxerre, full of sound and fury. We were leading 2 tries to 0 after the first two kick offs! But then we got out of our spirit, Auxerre played a very serious game, scored just before half time and just after, and we had a very hard time to get ourselves back together to reach aftertime. You imagine the intermission speech during which the refs decided it would be a winning try end.

I don't remember much but after a few minutes and the first Auxerre attack on our 22 meters line, "Resteg" Stephane Pierresteguy from Roissy, intercepted between fly half and centre and took us to the final versus Brighton Calypsos, who beat Weston SM RFC 3 to 1: we were suddenly "the" French team to support once again.

Final was a dead end: gossip said the Brighton Calypsos was the 50th English club of senior league, and composed of a Sussex selection helped on the tour by some Heathfielders defeated in semi final: They were so massive and collective that they hit us hard first, scored a regular try, preventing us from playing by keeping hands on mauls balls to slow it, we died on their line at half time, and they scored again by the Heathfield centre who did us pain the year before. Then we monopolized the ball but they were really clever delaying actions, we finally scored a try by "Resteg" for honour and kept attacking, but it was too late like last year and lost 7 to 12. A brand new thing after pitch congratulations was that Auxerre players were waiting for us on our way to our tent to applause us, followed by the crowd, and then that we had to cross a second "exit line" from the girls who applauded us as much.

The rest was an icy shower at the beach initiated by the Simon G as usual, a cocktail hour in Veules Garden to spend instants between us and thank everybody, specially Vero "physio" Grundy, and the formal dinner, which must remain a tour secret, what going on tour...

Back in town I registered for the 13th Dieppe tournament at once, a week after journalists in local newspapers talked about "les britiches de Paris"...

The Boars
9/4/2006 6:51:35 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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