Alnwick Rugby Club juniors enjoy France tour and trip to World Cup

After a year of planning and preparation I got to take eight boys and their parents across to Lille.

Whilst here the boys competed in a small 7's tournament which was arranged solely for our visit. The lads gave a very good account of themselves, however, the results were not important, what was important was the way we were greeted and treated from the moment we arrived at club roubaix.

Rugby is renowned for its sportsmanship and respect but our French hosts really went above and beyond in making us all feel welcome. Everyone we encountered was polite, friendly and fun and with both the club president and regional president coming along to meet us what more could we ask for.

Our team represented themselves, their club and Alnwick well, hopefully we've made new friends and created a bond we can build on. We have invited our hosts to visit us in Alnwick someday and hopefully they will return and speak as highly of our town and its welcoming!

if this wasn't enough that evening we all got to go and watch the Scotland/Romania game in the amazing Pierre Mauroy Stadium.

Hopefully created some amazing memories for the boys to look back upon in years to come.

A massive thank you to some of the local businesses who helped make this happen.

Colin Atkinson

Alnwick Rugby Club