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Lycee Polyvalente La Saulaie is located in the town of Saint Marcellin in the Isère department of eastern France. A small town compared to Toulouse and Avignon, the school has about 700 students and sat on a large campus with another strong athletics infrastructure. From the moment we arrived, it was clear that we were the hot ticket in town and that this would not be just another rugby game.
Our arrival! (video) I can't say that I blame them, but this was probably the most shell shocked our boys have been all tour as they faced the dauting prospect of exiting the bus via the front door into 'la foule' of welcoming Saulaiennes! Who's first?! (video) Slightly less organized than Bellevue, but immensely more enthusiastic, players were swiftly taken away by their billets and once more treated to wonderful food, celebrations, (there was definitely at least one birthday cake (video) and some fun living room antics! (video) which lead to a bit of a video challenge (video) and (video)!
Thursday dawned with sunny skies and cooler temperatures offering the perfect day for rugby! After a very fun night with billets (except for the boys who stayed in the school dorm which was fun in other ways) and an exciting morning at the grottes, everything seemed to be lining up for a dream day of rugby. Our hosts were beyond enthusiastic and happy to accommodate all of our requests. Wanting to be able to support each other and watch lots of rugby, we agreed to play a half each team, one after the other, and then a second half each so that everyone could watch all games. The school allowed students to come out to watch, and out to watch they came!
At times feeling more like a Latin American futbol match, the horns, smoke bombs, fire crackers and boisterous crowd all lent an air of excitement and intensity to the early going. As La Saulaie had advertised the game as a Canada vs France affair, anthems were sung pregame and spirits were flying high when the first kickoff finally rolled around (not the ceremonial kick off performed by the school director of course, that one wasn't very good at all, but the boys game kick off which was in fact very good... for La Saulaie).
Not a bad rendition! Coming into this game, the boys were feeling more confident and better prepared than four days ago in Toulouse. As mentioned, however, the opening kick off delivered by La Saulaie was very good and they won their own ball back on the first play of the game in an ominous portrayal of things to come. Over five minutes of sustained possession and 2 quick tries later (SMUS literally did not touch the ball for the first 5:30 of the game other than to kick the ball back to the opposition after they scored the first try) it was evident that we were in for a long afternoon. Watching the host fans swarm the field after each try was entertaining even thought it meant we had been scored on, and watching the skillful and fleet footed French players float across the field continued to impress.
While the final score of 55-0 was tough to swallow (36-0 at half), there were again many positives to take away from the game and the learning it provided for players and coaches. While the French skill level was clearly superior, the SMUS physicality was steady and some excellent tackling was put in by Nick L. and Rohan L., though overall the whole team tackled well. Zaki P. was steady on defence and didn't allow anyone past despite often facing multiple player overlaps, and Jayco C. found himself in some opportune places and got his hands on the ball a lot. Finley R. continues to improve massively with every game and the passing from the base of the ruck for Dani P. has likewise become much more reliable and consistent.
And while SMUS was kept off the scoreboard, they were close to scoring on several occasions with a long penalty attempt missing by inches and some sustained pressure in the second half eventually being thwarted by basic handling errors. Most certainly not a win on the scoreboard, but no one was injured and the experience cannot help but better prepare the team for Victorian rugby in April.
For coach Daum and Kim, it was promising to see players continue to fight right until the end of the game and for some of the less experienced players to step up and make a case for themselves. Post game discussion among the coaches was optimistic heading into Italy, though murmurings of "l'arbitre il est pourrie" could be overheard from time to time as they watched the game tape. Certainly some inconsistencies can be spotted... veteran French home field savvy (is that 18 players on the field at the same time?) or just questionable game management? Feel free to judge for yourself by watching the game.
First Half (have a look at around 17:00 and see how many players you can count in blue and white! and maybe 26:30 to see if you can spot the phantom touch line!) Second Half On the girls side of the action, expectations were high for an elite match. Coached by Yannick (the head cuffing, student fighting, teacher whose ability to connect with the students through head locks left the SMUS coaches feeling envious), the Saulaie girls team is headed to the national finals in 2 weeks where they have a chance to win the National title as best high school team in the country. Given that the La Saulaie boys team had lost in the semi-finals of the regional competition there was some worry about how this game might finish up.
As it turned out the small crew of 18 SMUS girls were more than up for the challenge and put in an absolute gem of a game against a spirited and skilled French team. Here is the game report from Coach Farish: The SMUS girls watched the first 15 minutes of the boys game before commencing their own end-zone routine, including a hip-hop-haka of their own design. Emotions ran high in the circle as the crowd boiled into the frenzy in anticipation of the battle to come.
Much like the boys, the kick off from the French team was not collected properly and SMUS found themselves penalized shortly after for an overzealous high tackle. Early play saw an exchange of possession and some good continuity from both teams. The SMUS girls found their stride with their first scrum on their own 22. Chioma D., Ava G., Harper M., and Ruki M. made their presence known with some good Canadian physical play making strong gains on attack. Still, the first 15 minutes featured back-and-forth possession and it was not until Alex M. broke the deadlock with the first try of the game. A second tally soon followed with another strong run by Chioma, converted by Captain Harper M. to make the score 12-0. Soon after, though, sustained French pressure got the home team back into the game 12-5. The French were hungry and almost scored another, but for a try-saving chase and tackle by Chioma (video) (poor Mary Lou!) which set the tone for the rest of the match! Half time brought a close to a very exciting first half! After half/game break, SMUS scored first through the hands of Chioma, with evasive footwork by Moe O. who made a fantastic offload to Katie M. for an absolutely stellar third try. (video) The remainder of the game featured more back-and-forth play from St. Marcellin, hungry and emboldened by a supportive home crowd. SMUS were led by strong forward presence by Sammi R., solid defence and tackling, as well as good ball retention through solid rucking by the entire squad. The next score followed a French line-out and maul, the first our girls had encountered, with Les Bleus dotting it down and converting. 17-12. SMUS answered almost immediately with another line break by Chioma, converted by Harper M., 24 - 12. Once again the French rallied with continuous pressure in our end and a try, 24 - 17. The SMUS girls finished on a high note on the wheels of Ruki M, converted by Taylor MacDonald (video) to a final score of 31-17. All of the girls played at least 30 minutes of rugby, and contributed courage, pace, and physicality that made the game fun for the crowd of several hundred locals, a few SMUS parents, and the five lucky Canadian coaches who cheered with pride at the efforts of the two teams. Post game provided a great chance for the players to mingle and connect as a big group and it was very fun to see players from both teams smiling and laughing. We all know that that a rugby tour is only partly about the rugby being played and that the real magic takes place off the field!
Harper and Aidan once more did a fine job with the thank you speeches and were awarded an engraved medallion by the mayor of the city!
A tale of two matches, both SMUS teams can be proud of their efforts on the day and the growth and experience these game provide will be so valuable when we return in April to take on the plodding, structured style of play so prominent in North America. Could there be a link between the 'jouer' of the French and their success on the international stage? Keep an eye out on the SMUS practice field for fast flowing open rugby when we get back as these coaches certainly think there may be!
It has been interesting to see some of the rule innovations that high school rugby uses in France (French club rugby uses the same rules as in Canada) that allow for a faster more fluid style of play. Scrums are all uncontested (injury risk drops significantly and the game speeds up with no resets required), no double tackles are allowed (fewer head on head injuries for defenders), and all tackles must be below the height of the ball (allows for offloads in all tackles and eliminates essentially all head contact for the ball runner adding to safety and developing good tackle technique). Not sure if these alone are enough to explain the gap in skill level, but certainly the offloading allows for the development of a whole set of skills around running support lines which create a dynamic and entertaining style of rugby. High school rugby is also played as 10 a side which allows for more space and opportunity to tackle and handle the ball, lots to consider...
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