Under
13s Make a Big Noise in France
This
is not the official tour report, that may never be written, but
the U-13s management and assorted travelling parents- most of whom
returned, had a great time in Southern France. The organisers did
their usual fantastic job, and excellence has become so commonplace
that it might be considered easy to do. However, when one sees the
mess that happens in poorly run organisations, we can say we are
truly blessed with the quality of the people involved in UL Bohs.
The squad arrived in Carcassonne to perfect rugby weather. A morning
spent exploring the ancient city was followed by the one hour journey
to Toulouse, possible Munster opponents in the ERC final if both
qualify.
Trevor Brennan, whom many feel is a Munsterman who was unfortunately
born in the wrong place (Leinster) coordinated that section of the
trip. With what many would see as typical Leinster cunning (who
can forget Diarmuid McMurrough? Players-study your history!) he
arranged that the Toulouse U-14s would play our U-13s. Size matters,
so we allowed them a moral victory on the scoreboard.
However, the hospitality shown by Les Toulousains could not be bettered.
They will always be welcome in Limerick.
Sunday's games took place before the important senior league game.
The travelling party of 80 plus were entertained beforehand and
then the squads got ready for their games. UL Bohs got some great
tries, and while teamwork suffered in trying to give 50 young men
game time in 4 games we are proud to report that Munster rugby's
great record in France has not been damaged.
The senior league match which followed was hit by an incredible
rainstorm. Locals said they had not seen such a deluge since Angela's
Ashes was shown on TV. This was the signal for an outbreak of general
mayhem which saw more punches thrown than Calzaghe and his opponent
swopped during the entire bout the previous night. A solicitor in
the travelling party took notes for possible civil action, a bank
manager saw an opportunity to lend for possible cosmetic improvements,
while a Human Resources executive trawled through his files for
bodies to fill the forthcoming vacancies.
Amazingly, no one was injured. More amazingly, only 2 yellow cards
were shown. "C'est la vie!" as we used say in the Poor
Man's Kilkee years ago thinking that's how you described a young
girl's cleavage.
Watch this space. The proper report will soon appear
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