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There are many reasons I started
this website but the main one is a growing love of
the French club rugby scene ever since moving down
to the Pyrenees two years ago.
As a kid I idolised Jean-Pierre
Rives with his unkempt hair and Serge Blanco with
his unparalleled flair, but it wasn’t until actually
living in France that I began to appreciate the true
passion for the game, especially down here in ‘Le
Sud’.
It’s the colour that gets you
first, then the noise as the team and supporters
entwine in L’espirit de clocher.
You can admire the free running
and the willingness to entertain, or you can relish
‘Le combat’, with its potential for ‘bagarres
generales’ (all-in brawls) to explode at any moment.
Whatever it is that draws you in,
and it could just be the burgeoning numbers of
etrangieres, it is impossible to deny that French
club rugby is a vibrant amalgam of pride, skill and
fervent parochialism – as all the best sports are.
That’s what I want to share with
you and here in this section I’ll be picking out
favourite clips from You Tube to help illustrate
that belief. They are, of course, all personal
selections, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless.
My first clip came after Toulouse
had beaten Clermont in last year’s Championship
play-off and features the unfeasibly muscled Kiwi
scrum-half Byron Kelleher doing an impromptu Haka on
top of the team bus as the Bouclier de Brennus was
paraded around La Ville Rose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCE673MXjfA
The
second clip shows Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal on the
pitch after a match leading a rendition of the club anthem
‘Pilou Pilou’. Love or hate him you’ve got to admire the
man’s sheer love for his club.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyyhR5ntlQY
And
if you’re wondering what it all means, then you should watch
this one too (which comes courtesy of
www.dailymotion.com)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42mb6_piloupilou_sport
And
finally, in best possible News at Ten silliness, here’s
something to make you chuckle. It’s not French, but it is
funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsLCxtV29BI&feature=related
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