U13s à la Tournoi International Benjamins en France

October 2006

It is now 2 months since the Maidenhead Under 13s' side competed in the prestigious Tournoi International Benjamins at Rodez in France and the late posting of this report is due purely and simply to the inefficiency of the tour reporters and is not due, contrary to rumour, to the fact that some of the parental support group have only just returned home! This year the tournament included sides representing all the home unions plus a team from Spain and some 29 French sides.

For the second year running Maidenhead were honoured to represent England and the success of our side last year resulted in Maids being drawn in the top pool. Maidenhead Bulls provided the bulk of the squad and would be playing ten a side rugby under French junior rules; rules which ensure a fast open game with no line outs, uncontested scrums and two referees! Spirits were high in the Maidenhead camp when in our two Saturday warm up matches we defeated Lasswade RFC from Edinburgh and indeed our hosts Rodez by 2 tries to nil and 2 tries to 1 respectively.

On the Saturday evening touring clubs were welcomed and hosted by the local mayor, which gave Maids Tour Management the opportunity to shower the receiving dignitaries with gifts and bad French. Such is the goodwill on these occasions that despite our Secretary’s arrival speech including doubtful references to Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaul, Charles Aznavour and Margaret Thatcher, all in a single sentence, international accord was still maintained. The Maids boys then continued tradition by taking to the stage and throwing down the challenge with the Haka.

Sunday morning brought the real challenge though and our hopes were dashed in the tournament proper when we faced four immensely strong French sides including the eventual winners Bourgeon who were all well drilled, disciplined and seemed to have been trained in the Foreign Legion and fed a diet of ‘Viande Cru’ in the weeks prior to the games. Regrettably we displayed a typical squad failing in not being awake and ready for the early morning start, resulting in four consecutive losses.

However, fortified by a magnificent five Euro lunch served to over a 1000 people in one hour, we were a different team in the afternoon and despite the morning’s defeats, the boys showed grit and determination. One of the benefits of writing this report belatedly is the Rodez experience resulted in a Quantum Leap in the quality of play displayed by the squad in the following weeks. A special mention must be made of the pack, who subsequently held the Stags in the Maidenhead Tournament and more than held their own in a tough game at Drifters.

Firstly, Maids defeated Brive by 3 tries to 2 with 2 tries for Druv Suyra and one from James Balmer ensuring a victory over a strong side. This result also avoided Maids winning the wooden spoon.

This was followed by a tight fiercely contested one try victory over Seleccion de Catalunya with Ross Brown providing the decisive score.

Our final game was against Aurillac and tries from Shiv Khindria, Ross Brown, George Thomas and the ever dangerous Druv Suyra resulted in Maids winning a tight 7 try thriller.

Following the awards presentations, the true spirit of rugby was then fully displayed in the evening when more than a hundred boys took to the main pitch and joined in a series of impromptu games, making the best of the time with their new found friends. Perhaps the most enduring sight of the tour was when our Maids team proudly swapped shirts with their Welsh counterparts.

No mention of the Rodez tournament is complete without acknowledging the superb hospitality and organisational skills of our hosts and thanks go once again to Suzanne and Alain. For the boys, coaches and parents alike the Rodez tournament is an amazing sporting, cultural and social event beyond compare and I would urge any club member to visit Rodez next Autumn when our current under 12s return to the tournament and teams from both South Africa and New Zealand have now also been invited. Our special thanks must go to the travelling coaches Gideon Smith. Alastair Whiteford, Martin Sanders (Player-Coach) and Ajay Khindria for their support and guidance and selfless dedication in staying in the dormitories with the boys, allowing the parents to experience the delights of the bars, restaurants and Hospitals in Rodez to the full.

The squad comprised of:

Shiv Khindria, Dhruv Suyra, Ross Brown, George Thomas, Calum O’Flaherty, Gareth Orwin, Jacob Sanders, Ian Whiteford, Matthew Smith, James Balmer, Stephen Carn, Jonathon Perry, Blake Nichol.