SAM WITH WARLINGHAM RUGBY CLUB IN FRANCE

A news item with permission from the Surrey Mirror 23/05/2014

WARLINGHAM'S junior side beat some of the best teams in Europe after being invited to take part in an exclusive tournament in France.

The juniors Wars, made up of U13s and U14s, were the only English club to be invited to play in the Biarritz Olympique Rugby Tournament, and one of only two non-French sides, the other being from Madrid.

The tournament is well known as an invitation-only event for top 14 clubs and Warlingham secured the invitation having beaten Stade Francais earlier this year.

The Warlingham boys played four group games against the strongest teams in France, beating UNSS Minimes but losing against Perpignan, Stade Toulousain and the Paris Universite Club team.

Aristot Benz-Solomon, Sam Edwards, Alex Peckett, Ben Payne, J'Dai Prachakul and Daniel Dubet were all try scorers during the matches but the French showed aggressive tackling and Warlingham were unable to break free in sufficient numbers to add scores.

In the knockout stages Warlingham beat Madrid by the small margin of two points but their tired legs failed to keep out Montauban in the final game of the afternoon.

After the tournament, head coach David Berry said: "It was a great honour just to be invited to this elite competition so to win two games against the best teams in the country is a successful outing for all the boys. They've learnt so much from this trip and it will definitely help us progress in next season's matches. All the boys thoroughly enjoyed the experience and bring back treasured memories of playing rugby in France."

Warlingham's season has now ended but starts again in September when boys and girls of all ages are welcome to join the training and coaching. For more information go to www.mightywarl.com.

Group photo