Faces

Coupe des Nations 2017 at the Moundsmere estate, Hampshire

It began 27 years ago as an idle boast in the fuggy atmosphere of a gentleman’s club in London. Over the port, an Englishman asserted casually to his French guest that members of the island race were definitely and without doubt the best shots. this caused the relaxed ambiance to crispen somewhat as the slighted Frenchman demanded proof and challenged his host to a competition.

the Coupe des Nations was thus engendered and has taken place every year since, alternately in France and Britain. Rather like the Boat Race, the overall balance is close and it is probably fairest to say that after 27 matches the French lead by a nostril.

this year’s event took place at the beautiful Moundsmere estate in Hampshire, where eight clubs representing this blessed plot took on six of the Republic’s finest. In an effort to make the French feel utterly relaxed, dinners were held at the Royal Green Jackets Museum, next to the extraordinary diorama of the Battle of Waterloo, and then on the gun deck of HMS Victory. the “relaxation” must have worked, as the Brits came out on top and our French friends returned across the Channel knowing that Albion remains cheerfully perfidious.

Eight clubs representing this blessed plot took on six of the Republic’s finest