Callum was asked to play with the Genlis U9s in Chambery this weekend. It meant an early start - we left home at 5am to drive 160 miles for this big tournament. Once again there were over 140 teams attending, spread across the different age groups. And this time it was an international event, attracting teams from Italy and France.
The drive there was long but breathtakingly beautiful :
The rugby ground in Chambery was equally picturesque. Set in a bowl surrounded by cliffs and snow-capped mountains.
It was a jolly atmosphere with lots of teams in bright kit, gazebos galore and countless bar-b-qs. I was a little surprised as I walked past an Italian group and heard an English voice shout across to me. Simon of Verona. He was merrily cooking lunch for his Italian team, wine bottle in hand. I complimented the food and he confided that the only way the Italians would come to a French tournament was if they did not have to eat the French food! And yet the French make mockery of the British cuisine and here was an Englishman cooking for the Italians in France. I'm looking forward to dining out on that story the next time my French pals are rude about English food.
The tournament went well, despite the afternoon rain. Genlis made it to the final which was a rain dousing 1-1 against Beaune. Beaune somehow were declared the winners and this reduced our little team to tears of incredulity. However, after five minutes of confusion, Genlis were declared winners on points. Tears of joy ensued. Followed by the presentation of a cup and a superb French version of the Haka, led by a charismatic lad in the team (as in the video below).
Finally left the rugby ground at 6.30pm and got home, exhausted, before 10pm.
