Few better places than Toulon for the Boks to be based

THERE could be worse places to be, but few better for the Springboks at next year’s World Cup.

The Boks will be based in Toulon for the tournament, cradled by its mountainous surroundings, antique old quarter and oldworld charms. The Mediterranean city moves with the business of national security, as it is home to a major naval base.

Look carefully and you can spy the French Mediterranean fleet anchored in the picturesque harbour around which the city has been built since the 4th century BC. The city is enamoured with rugby - and look one way or the other, and more often than not you will find something related to the game to look at.

Old leather and weathered rugby balls are used as decoration, while jerseys venerating Toulon hang on walls proudly. Bok coach Jacques Nienaber & Co’s eyes certainly won’t suffer, and neither will their preparations in defence of the Webb Ellis Cup.

On Wednesday, a small group of South Africans had the privilege to inspect the training facilities the Boks will be using, when we were given a tour of Toulon’s base. Guided by the club’s executive director Francois Pesenti, the resources that will be available to the Boks in a word, will be magnificent.

It is a state of the art facility that has recently been built, one that makes similar amenities afforded to Sa-based players look parochial at best. Modern, sleek, and designed from a holistic point of view that focuses all of its attention on the training field at its centre, it is a statement of intent that has been constructed by the owners of Toulon.

Rest assured, the Boks will have all they need on hand when they travel to Toulon and set themselves up there in 2023. The club is sparing no expense as it endeavours to return to halcyon days, and that includes a €15million upgrade to the outside training pitch, which will be ready in time for the Boks.

But perhaps the most important aspect of this endeavour, is the club’s ambition to make these facilities available to the community. These upgrades are not just for the betterment of the club’s professionals, but rather for the entire city. SA'S sports teams can be somewhat aloof, hiding behind securit y fences and cavernous and imposing stadiums. Toulon doesn’t see itself in such a role. Instead, it is on a mission to include its supporters in its growth.

The training facilities are for its players, to be sure, but it is also for grassroots development - inviting children from across the province to attend training sessions every Wednesday. That swanky facility shaped around the artificial training field even has its own section dedicated to that mission with all the equipment and facilities required to aid that development.

Indeed, the Toulon centre is as much a professional arena as it is a community centre, and such thoughtful homogenisation.