Enclosed is short report on Dax tour I sent last year, together with photo of part of the stadium we played at & Hotel Cheval Blanc where we stayed ( all excellent). Several highlights apart from games & hospitality were the "borrowing" of motorised bikes from outside Bar Basque where we were socialising to race around Dax before returning undamaged ! ! Also stopping at a village dance & drinking them out of fizz & Stuart Laird taking the stage & singing a few rock numbers to take the place by storm.
Players I can remember on the tour were as follows:
Paul Alexander, Tim Arnold, Mike Berry, Ray Cusdin, Ken Davidson. Robin Gammage, Dave Inwood, Roger Curtis, ? Ockenden, Graham ?, Dave Patterson, Will Sinnott, Ron Stapleton, Peter Sargeant, Mike McMahon, Mike Parle, Dave Young, Mike Williams. There are several I can picture but can't remember names.
Supporters
Gordon Griffiths, Stuart Laird (couldn't play due to broken leg), Johnny Byers, Tom Cochrane, & Bob Sowerby ( President).
The Bar Basque where we mainly drank was owned by Pierre Albadego, a well known ex-French international & was frequented by many local rugby players including French internationals. Quite a few of the tour party were 2nd & 3rd team players who really stepped up & played well above their normal game, A very memorable tour.
Tour Report
Jim Bird was Club captain but unfortunately couldn't travel so I was elected captain by the committee for this tour. We travelled by train to Dax & stayed in Le Cheval du Blanc Hotel, a central hotel with loads of character. Three fixtures were played - Dax who were a national league side, Tartas, & Aire sur L'Adour, all entertained us well with some excellent food. On the morning of the Dax match, local TV turned up at the hotel & asked if I could get the team to the ground (which was nearby) for them to film a training session. I eventually was able to get about 13 of the party, the rest were sightseeing & in bars or cafes. In Dax we frequented a bar used by a lot of local rugby players including several famous internationals & we enjoyed lively evenings. One night several of our party decided to borrow a few motorised bicycles which locals used around. An exciting circuit of the town was done before the bikes were returned to their original spot, luckily without any damage.
On the day of our match with Tartas there was a fair in the town which we visited in the morning & Dave Young relates the following story. He & Tim Arnold (later to be President) were on a shooting gallery but Tim did not seem to be hitting many of the upright metal targets. Dave said to Tim "I thought you were supposed to be a good shot Tim" to which Tim replied "I am, just look at the eyes of some of the teddy bear prizes on the top shelf". Tim had shot out the glass eyes.
Another memorable event was coming back from one of the matches & stopping in a village & attending a local dance in the village hall. The place was lively & we stayed & drank them out of "Fizz" & Stuart Laird got the place really buzzing by taking the stage & singing several rock & roll numbers with the band. to great applause. It should be mentioned that the tour party had quite a few 2nd & 3rd team members & they all played well above their normal standard & gave a very good account of themselves.
