Benjis join La Table Magique tournament in Belgium
On June 4-5th, our Benjis crossed the border and travelled to Belgium to join the legendary tournament of “La Table Magique” organized by the Rugby Club Frameries. This very famous international tournament welcomed not less than 60 teams over the weekend, starting with U6 on Saturday and U8 and U10 on Sunday. Our U10 Warriors used this event to do a week-end out with courageous parents and staffs. A well appreciated opportunity to get together and build further the group cohesion after many restrictions due to COVID-19.
So the group hit the road on Saturday morning and spent the day at the Rugby Club Frameries to enjoy the various on-site activities and start the week end with a giant team BBQ well orchestrated by Marc. 27°c under the shade, blue sky, we had to adjust the plan to get the group ready for few rugby exercises in the afternoon before the big day. The group headed then to Mons, a medieval town close by, where we slept and we enjoyed a nice team dinner in a Italian restaurant followed by an unplanned massive HD motorbike show on the grand place. Time to wing down, rain is coming and it is getting late. Tomorrow would be a long day. 6:45am, time to get up and move.
The good news is that the rain cooled down significantly the atmosphere and greatly helped the pitches but the less of a good news is that the forecasts for the day are terrible and we will get a 9:30 to 6.00 rainy day. Let’s do it, rain or shine rugby spirit. We started very strong the play offs in a group of 5, letting the opposition scoring 0 tries during the first 3 games. The defence if solid, support is in place and the Warriors are moving forward. The 4th qualification game is more difficult as both teams are very aggressive. Both defence are impressive and except the rain, very little has a chance to go through it. Final score: a tie 2-2. Well done Warriors, we are first of our group with the goal average.
Time for lunch. The atmosphere is very good, both on and outside the pitch, the organising committee is in place. It smells good rugby and passion for the sport amongst the players, coaches, parents & supporters. As we enter the Quarter finals, the intensity is one level higher. No doubt the teams which qualified play good rugby and are contenders for the 1st place. We are playing well, our best rugby, everything is in place but it is hard. All players know that either you make it or it is the end.
Ball is still very slippery, passing is getting difficult but all players commit themselves and support each other. Time to give our very best! End of the game Warriors 2 – Opposition 3. Tough. Both teams gave everything and the chance to win this one was really a 50/50. Difficult to swallow for many, atmosphere is down. Time to cool off and get back together as a group. It is hard to find the words for them to listen as the intensity was so high, the contacts, the contests and now it is over. But we are happy … in the end, as we played well, we adjusted well to the local rules, we had all our subs having game time and the group is still there, under the rain, shoulder to shoulder, united and together. We played the other 2 games and ended up finishing 8th out of the 28 registered U10 teams. Proud of our Warriors!
The group watched the semi finals and finals together in the tribune and collected their well deserved medals + the crusader club trophy as a bonus! We are all still wet but smiles are back. Time for a quick photo and lets head back to home.
It was a fantastic experience and players should and would remember it for a long time. The black shirt with the eyes on the back made a strong impression. There are way too many people to thank who made this event possible. So thank you ALL again and thank you to the Frameries Rugby Club for welcoming us and for all their supports. Fantastic organization and team week-end.
Laurent Minaud
Head Coach Benjis