Taylorian

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TAYLORIAN 2024 RUGBY

Rugby Tour to France

T hirty-two U14 rugby players had a fantastic rugby tour to Soustons (near Biarritz) in the South of France during the Easter holidays. Before the main business of training and fixtures we went surfing on the beach at 9ieux %oucau and watched the Soustons Senior Men’s side play an important league match – a 9-8 thriller featuring three red and three yellow cards. Our first significant training session saw us travel to the Aviron Bayonnais Performance Centre, where we were hosted by three of their academy coaches. It was a great session and a good insight into how the French coach their offloading and free wheeling style of play!

The following day we played our fixtures with Soustons RFC. Due to French age grade rules, our older boys played their U15s while our younger pupils played their U14s. The latter was a little one sided, but the Soustons U14 team were genuinely outstanding, and our lads learnt a lot from the contest. The U15s game was highly competitive, and MTS trailed by just three points (34-31) with five minutes remaining. Unfortunately, the boys were not able to get a result, but they gave an excellent account of themselves.