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« ITV dig deep for World Cup rights | | Tweet Treats - Volume XVIII » August 8, 2010 Posted on 08/08/2010 If Carlsberg did rugby clubs...
A trip to the south of France at this time of year is tempting enough but add in the chance to get an insight into one of the most fascinating clubs in the world and you can understand why I wasted little time in accepting an invite to visit Toulon earlier this week. The biggest draw of course was a certain Jonny Wilkinson who shared his thoughts on life under the Mediterranean sun on the same day it was later announced that he would not be joining up with the England camp. Bad timing on our part but perhaps good on the part of the club? But I did find out that the club, who are not bound by the same agreement that guarantees the release of those players based in England, were not happy about the fact that they had received no official request for his release. Not that they would or even should let him go with their new season kicking off the same week! But Wilkinson was only part of the story with the club itself taking centre stage. The likes of Felipe Contepomi, Tom May, Paul Sackey and Rory Lamont all offered valuable insight into the club as did coach Philippe Saint-Andre and also, perhaps most interestingly, club owner Mourad Boudjellal - all of which you can read on the pages of ESPN Scrum over the coming days. And to cap it all I got to witness the small but mighty Stade Felix Mayol in full voice - with 13,000 packed in for the pre-season friendly(!) against Stade Francais that was won 25-22 by the hosts who kick off their Top 14 campaign against Bayonne on Friday, August 13. And here's a 'postcard' from Toulon to whet your appetite: Dear Readers, Spent the last day or so with those kind fellas at Toulon. Smiles are infectious in this place with every player seemingly very happy to be playing with the sun on their backs. Apparently Jonny Wilkinson is a 'French geek" while new signing Paul Sackey is struggling with the langauge having missed a few lessons! Funnily enough deep-pocketed boss Monsieur Boudjellal wanted to sign Welsh wing Shane Williams but Saint-Andre got his way with Sackey. Big Joe van Niekerk is a huge crowd favourite - must have stopped 50 times on his way to the toilet during the pre-season clash with Stade Francais to have his picture taken! He must have face-ache most mornings with that perma-smile. Met Mourad for a drink after the game - his drink of choice? Dom Perginon of course! If Carlsberg did rugby clubs - this would be it! À bientôt! Graham Comments
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