by Elena Hogarth

FORTY young rugby players had the chance to embrace the joie de vivre on a two-week tour to the south of France to learn all about French flair on and off the pitch.

The U15 girls and U16 boys from Ayr-Wellington and their team of coaches from the Ayr Community Rugby Trust set off for Castres in July on a vocational tour co-funded by Erasmus+, a European Union initiative that aims to modernise education and training for young people.

They had the fantastic opportunity of working with the academy coaches of Castres-Olympique, one of the top rugby clubs in France, and also took part in specialist sessions with some of the 1st XV players. The ACRT coaches also got the chance to watch the senior squad coaches in action and pick up some tips on how they train their charges in that famous French flair.

Away from the rugby pitch, the youngsters worked in the gym, took educational classes and bonded through team building exercises that included kayaking and rock climbing.

They visited Montpellier for a few days of beach rugby and the village of Brassac, home of former ACRT development officer and Ayr player Sylvain Diez. He was an Ayr Ladies coach when he was at Millbrae and took some time to work with the next generation of players, the U15 girls.

“This was a unique opportunity for these young players,” said ACRT’s Stuart Fenwick.

"They really embraced the French style of rugby. Now they can’t wait for the start of the new season to put that passion and creativity into practice in their national leagues and regional competitions.”

It’s been a busy summer for everyone at Ayr RFC. The U18 boys have been away at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire for a week to use the facilities at the highly regarded further education college and play friendly matches with local teams.

Meanwhile Ayr Ladies’ Catherine Shennan, Lauren Gunn and Joanne Jones played for the West in the annual Donna Kennedy Cup at BT Murrayfield last Sunday, with the East claiming the trophy. On the same day, Glasgow and the West U20s marauded their way to the U20s academy regional title by beating the Borders and East Lothian 52-19.

Ayr’s Harry Warr, Paddy Dewhirst, Matt Davidson and Robbie Smith started for Glasgow, with Dewhirst and Smith scoring two tries each and Davidson one.

Ayr’s men’s squad has been in pre-season training for six weeks, and has welcomed a host of new players. Jonathan Agnew (from Glasgow) and Michael Badenhorst (South Africa via Dumfries) play second row, whilst Scott Lyle from Norwich and former Glasgow Hawk Tommy Spinks are fly-half/full-back and back row respectively.

Adding some grunt up front are props Robin Hislop, a former professional player with Edinburgh, and Euan McLaren, the Scotland U18s captain.

McLaren is a stage 3 player with the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy, as is winger Robbie Nairn and back row George Stokes.

Ayr had their first pre-season friendly last weekend, losing narrowly to GHA. Jamie Bova scored two tries and David Young one, with Lyle on kicking duty in the 17-19 defeat. They have an early kick-off of 11.30am at Bridgehaugh this Saturday for their game against Stirling County.