BRIDPORT under-15s suffered a one-sided 57-7 defeat during a small tour to France with the club Lege Cap Feret, near Bordeaux.

Twenty-three Juniors plus 16 members and support staff left Bristol for the first playing fixture between the two clubs, who are looking to make reciprocal trips on a regular basis.

The juniors, comprising of under-14s and under-15s, went to the LCF training ground for a joint session run by both English and French coaches.

This included a warm-up session, a series of structured training exercises and culminated in a full practice contact game with their French counterparts.

A buffet lunch was followed by an afternoon on the beach where several of the party went surfing and all enjoyed an evening meal at the Centre en Mer in Andernos Les Bains where the party were staying on the Thursday night.

With glorious hot and sunny weather continuing, the party enjoyed a two-hour boat trip around the Bassin D’Arcachon before the main event of the tour at the LCF ground at Cap Feret.

Two matches were played, firstly the LCF under 14s, joined by five under-14s from Bridport played a local side Pays Medoc.

Despite putting up a brave performance the LCF Juniors were outplayed by a superior side and all of the junior Blues played a full part in the game and Will Ralph was awarded man of the match.

The game was followed by the Bridport under-15’s playing the St Medard en Jalles Cadets who were fielding a strong side with a number of very large players.

This was a side that had not conceded a try in their last six games and it was soon evident that their ball handling skills, pace and strength would be too much for the Blues’ under-15s.

With a 34C temperature the game was played as two 30-minute halves with drinks at 15 minutes.

The Blues were not daunted and stuck to their task with commendable purpose, scoring a converted first-half try and but for a last-ditch tackle would have scored in the closing minutes.

The final score was 57-7 and captain Joe Swan was the Blues’ man of the match.

As a stalwart Exeter Chiefs supporter he was presented with their traditional Indian headdress in recognition of his leadership under difficult conditions.

The evening concluded with a very enjoyable meal provided for all by LCF and presentations were made to their staff involved in the organisation of the tour.

Their senior team will play the Blues’ first team in Bridport at the end of August and their juniors will make a full tour in 2020, and both clubs look forward to a long and happy relationship.