Although Arcachon has never been considered a rugby ground (neither in France nor anywhere else), with its heavenly and slightly exclusive bay stretching just south of Bordeaux on the west coast, this city of just over 10,000 inhabitants he still has his own club, the Rugby Club. Arcachon Basin (RCBA). A modest club, at least by French standards.

There is the usual running track, a grandstand and a club house. On the grounds of the Bassin d’Arcachon stadium there is also a crêperie, a bar and a place for barbecues. This Sunday afternoon, the gallery is in full swing. Between two puffs of Gauloises, onlookers get excited and hoarse, causing the beer to splash into their glasses like the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

Everyone knows the club’s anthem by heart. After an excellent performance by the applicants at the raising of the curtain, the marching band gets into gear. Ouch, the visiting club, of course, also came with their drum group.

According to the standings and the predictions, Auch should win without a doubt. But in reality it never happens as we imagine in France. At halftime, as in Saint Jean de Luz’s victory over Anglet a week earlier in the same championship, chaos ensues. The public, all sides together, is in an uproar, and in this case, whatever the outcome of the fight, the referee is always the one who is wrong.

In the end, the local underdogs triumph over their eminent visitors in front of no less than 1,000 people, all captivated by the exploits of their local heroes, under a soft spring sun.

The vitality of French rugby

Arcachon, which plays in Nationale 2, the fourth division of French rugby union, is coached by Simon Mannix (a former Gloucester player [dans le sud-ouest de l’Angleterre] and Pau) and has fifteen professional players in its ranks. By comparison, it has to be said that English rugby seems to be in poor shape, with its elite clubs badly affected, its second division barely operational and a catastrophic amateur cup. When you see this, you better understand why so many English internationals continue to attempt the cross-Channel adventure, sometimes with success.

Only 21 kilometers can separate England from France, culturally, politically and socially, they are worlds apart, with very different ways of life, and that is reflected in everything that these countries build at a sporting level, especially in rugby.

What we were able to observe in Arcachon is typically French and it would be unrealistic to want to reproduce it identically in England. The problem with English rugby union (the Premiership) is that whenever it is suggested that English rugby might be inspired by its cousins ​​across the Channel, the first reaction from fans, coaches and managers is usually say I don’t work

In fact, too many specifically “French” factors would play a role in the success of the sport in France: geographical considerations that allow it to be proud of its small towns, penchant for beauty