GAME CHANGER AS RUGBY PLAYERS HEAD TO FRANCE
Oban girls get the chance of a lifetime to train in Toulouse
Rugby-playing girls from Oban High School will travel to Toulouse in the south of France next month for the opportunity of a lifetime.
A total of 34 players ranging from S2-S6 will receive professional coaching at one of the most successful clubs in Europe between Saturday June 1 and Wednesday June 5.
The girls will also travel to USC Terrasson to play a friendly match against the club which has struck up a relationship with Oban Lorne RFC since the release of a documentary featuring both clubs prior to the World Cup last year.
Murray Hamilton, principal teacher of physical education at Oban High School, said: “The partnership between Oban High School and Oban Lorne RFC has been massively successful in making this experience a reality.
“We have worked really hard to build the partnership and help create these opportunities for all our players.
“The girls game has been growing over the last few years and this was the opportunity to strike and make this trip happen.”
The trip will include coaching from some of the best coaches in the game. The girls will also attend Toulouse v La Rochelle, tour the stadium and have a question and answer session with players.
“All of this has been organised with InspireSport which has been great in accommodating our requests,” added Murray. “The hope is this experience will motivate the players to continue with the sport and help to buck the national trend of drop off in girls’ activity and sport. We are already doing pretty well in terms of our numbers playing competitive sport. We want to ensure these players are the next crop to move up to Oban Lorne’s senior ladies team.
“Next season we will have an U18 team in National League 1 and U16 in National leagues and U14s will play in the evolution conference.
“The future is looking bright and we hope this experience in Toulouse will kick start their season next year.”
This season the U16 girls competed in National League 2 and went undefeated in their group stages before an SRU re-shuffle at Christmas. They were crowned West Regional Plate winners after winning all their games.
The U18 girls were playing in a festival style conference which saw them travel the length of the country for games.
The U14 girls were playing in an evolution conference within Argyll and Bute and travelled further afield to get competitive evolution rounds completed. The U14 girls have been successfully lead by club and school team coaches Grace MacLean and Caitlin Fowler.
As a result of the partnership between Oban High School and Oban Lorne RFC,
excellent local sponsors have been attracted to youth rugby. Thanks go to Paul Knight, PDK Shellfish; Alex Hill, AH Contractors; Jo MacLean, Wild Bathing; RDT Importers Ltd; Antony Di Ciacca, Nories; Gavin Blainey, Drax; and Patrick Shellcock, Tralee Bay Holidays.
“We were blown away with the volume of support from locally-based companies. The sponsors were all impressed with the girls’ efforts in fundraising and commitment to the game,” added Murray.
More photographs at www. westcoasttoday.co.uk.