Oban Lorne enter entente cordiale with USC Terrasson
A duo of delegates from Oban Lorne RFC crossed the Channel recently in the interest of building club relations overseas.
Club secretary Murray Hamilton and Allan Wright, Active School’s development officer, travelled to the when Terrason vice-president Benoit Pensivey visited Oban as part of a pre-World Cup documentary series, which featured clubs from Oban, Ivory Coast, Fiji and France and realised their were many similarities between the two clubs.
Now the clubs are looking to strengthen the partnership with regular tours for both high school and senior teams.
Speaking about the recent visit, Hamilton said: ‘We were a bit apprehensive at first as we didn’t know what to expect when we went over there but as it turned out they were just trying to do what we have already been doing at Oban Lorne with an emphasis on rejuvenating rugby in their town.
‘When they came here they really liked our rugby culture and the connection we have between the high school and the club. They want to use that as a model as good practice and replicate it across there.’
Wright added: ‘We are really excited to see where we can take this.
‘We have had close relationships with clubs in the past but this has kind of died away in the past 10 years. There is a new generation of players coming through now who have never experienced touring and it would be great to get something going again.
‘The weekend we were across they held a reunion dinner at which there were many former club players, including ex-internationals and the emphasis was not only on how good it was but how good it could become, a sentiment we share at Oban Lorne.’
The clubs are hoping the partnership will be a long-term one and that the relationship between the two will grow and grow for years to come.
Joining the conversation from France, Pensivey added: ‘Part of our ongoing development project is to send young players overseas to play rugby so this partnership is very important to us.
‘When we were over there making the documentary we loved the people in Oban and were made so welcome. I knew that there were good people there and that the link between the school and the club was something we should be looking at.
‘It wasn’t just about there, watching some and leaving.
‘It was about the bonds we created, and hopefully those bonds will remain and help both clubs in their future development. going rugby
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