Lost in France

Wednesday 27th January 2010

Story in brief:

Last weekend, the youngsters of Widnes Vikings travelled to France to take on the Carcassone first team.  The Vikings were asked to take part in an invitational game to celebrate their seventieth year in the game.  Widnes sent a combination of players from the academy and the reserve side with players ranging from sixteen to twenty one years of age, illustrating Widnes' commitment to developing home grown talent.  The side was coached by Dave Banks and were narrowly defeated by a physical Carcassone outfit.  The vast majority of the players experiencing their first taste of open age rugby against a team consisting seasoned professionals.  The boys showed great determination throughout the game just to be edged out by a more experienced opponents late in the game. 

Vikings Sporting Director Terry O'Connor, Tim Holmes and myself accompanied the players on their two night stay in France which was hosted brilliantly by the French.  The trip culminated in a traditional French feast, the boys thoroughly enjoying the local fare.  The whole experience of flying, staying away from home, eating unfamiliar food and playing against a much bigger opposition will hopefully prove fruitful as they progress through our system and represent our club in the near future. 

 Phil Finney