Lewes visit France for anniversary celebrations

Over the May Bank Holiday weekend, eight representatives of Lewes Rugby Club attended the 50th Anniversary of their Twin-Town's rugby Club, RC Blois.

The host club was founded in 1967, with the first rugby match between Blois and Lewes being one year later, in 1968.

Since then, the two clubs have visited one another on many occasions and several long-standing family friendships developed as a result.

See photos of the visit here>>

On the Saturday, the Lewes group watched a series of rugby matches, and visited the exhibition in the main clubhouse - including many photographs of the players and matches between the clubs over the past years - before visiting host families and local establishments for the evening.

On the Sunday, a bowls match was arranged in the morning between the two clubs - but not bowls as we know it in England: this regional variant being played indoors on a curved track which made the passage of the ball even more treacherous! The afternoon was spent by several of the Lewes group visiting local vineyards, before proceeding to the evening's Anniversary Banquet attended by over 300 people. Here, Lewes LRFC President Dave Whiting presented Blois with a framed LRFC rugby shirt, together with other gifts to the local dignitaries in attendance.

Returning on Monday after a long and exhausting weekend, the Lewes reps came home determined to continue the excellent "entente cordiale" between the rugby players and friends of the Twin -Towns.

(main photo, left to right: M. Jean-Marc Trazeres, President of RC Blois; Mme. Isabelle Laumond, representative of the Mayor of Blois; LRFC President, Dave Whiting; Dereck Wade, LRFC translator).