I’ve had the pleasure of spending the last two days in Toulon doing a couple of pieces for the magazine and being out there really makes you realise just how many rugby stars they have at the club. And this is when Jonny Wilkinson – who is a god there on the evidence of the products on offer in the club shop – is back in Bagshot with England.
South African Joe van Niekerk is all smiles as he walks by, then you spot former All Black prop Carl Hayman and Australian Test centurion George Smith. There’s Felipe Contepomi, Paul Sackey, Gavin Henson, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe – the list is endless. There’s Tom May, a genuinely nice bloke who gives us a bit of a tour of the club and the town.
As well as the big names, the other thing that strikes me is the number of locals who simply turn up to watch training. There’s a bunch of about 30 out there first thing in the morning just to watch the team run through a few moves on the pitch – something I’ve never seen at an English club’s training session. It’s a clear indication of the passion for the sport in the South of France.
Those spectators would have noticed, as did I, that the players take a lot of control in training too. They seemed to take it upon themselves to organise the session and run moves while the likes of Philippe Saint-Andre take more of a back seat. It’s great to see players taking control and thinking for themselves in a time when many point to the robot-like nature of players.
All in all, it was a very intriguing trip (thank you Multipower) and it was brilliant to see how relaxed and friendly some of the game’s biggest names are. I can’t imagine those at, say, Real Madrid being so open and welcoming.
Tags: Joe van Niekerk, Jonny Wilkinson, Tom May, Toulon
