Here are some comments of the Chinnor U.14 players who accompanied coaches Lynn Evans and Richie Williams to the former French National Coach, Pierre Villepreux’s week of ‘Rugby in Movement’ course. This course was held of the Isle de Noirmoutier, off the coast of Nantes in France during the second week of July. We travelled by train and coach to the course.
There was not a scrum or lineout in sight all week and the boys were coached by French coaches (plus some input from myself and Richie) all week. We believe they benefited hugely from their experiences especially in the understanding of the game in movement.
Players came from many countries including Morocco, Holland, Luxemburg, Italy and Martinique. We would like to think they improved their French language as well! - Lynn

It's Ror. Here are my thoughts on the week:
The week started off slowly and I think we were all surprised at the French and Italian liberalism. Language was a huge barrier but we tried to overcome it in the training sessions and in the down time - with 5 different nationalities it was a diverse situation but considering the very limited language we had, I think we did quite well! As for the rugby side of things I expected to be one of the worst there, but I was pleasantly surprised that the boys there were roughly the same ability as me. The rugby was very different; the lines were so much faster than they are in England, and with no scrums or line outs, it was very much a movement game. Overall it was a worthwhile experience: I learned more about my strengths and areas for development, and I would say that under the English facade beats the heart of an Italian!!
Rory Coltart

My Trip to France was an enjoyable experience. I found that the rugby in France is so different to the, head down and run forward method that England use.
I also found that the French language at the course confused me at the start but thankfully I was not the only English one in my age group.
The trip to and From France was a great choice compared to the plane option. Trains seemed less stressful (despite sitting next to Harry).
The rugby was a challenge being in the U17 but I liked the way it was just me. In the rugby we were told to pass after contact which was the opposite of what I’d been taught at Chinnor.
I’d like to thank Lynn for being fantastically organised (apart from giving me the wrong train ticket) you also did a great job coaching our group. Also Richie for coming along and helping with the coaching this helped us lots.

Jack Gibbins

The coaching was great at the course because there was no standing around, no scrums no line outs just quick moving fast flowing rugby. The coaches were great and they explained everything very well in French and English especially Bernard and Pierre.
The experiences were great and I learnt a lot from the course and met loads of friends from Luxemburg, Italy and France.
In the morning we got up at 8:30 and went to breakfast then went and got ready for rugby, after rugby which was about 12:00 then we had lunch then had a rest. Once we had finished the rest we had a break and played in the games room or on the table football tables or played ping pong. Then we did our activities that you signed up for after breakfast they lasted about an hour to an hour and a half some days we were at the beach some we weren’t. After we played an hour and fifteen minutes of rugby then had dinner, after dinner we played in the games area then went to a meeting to talk about the day and then went to bed at 10:00 lights out at 10:30. Overall it was great and really enjoyable.

Cheers
Harry

I learnt so much about how to play the game in movement. Also I began to understand the game more as a result of playing like this. The game was also very quick. I wish the coaches could speak more English!!

Jake O’Neill