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Unique challenge on French turf

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There is something certainly different about Tigers trips to France - and it's not just the temperature.

After leaving chilly Leicester behind on Friday morning, The Tig arrived in sunny south-eastern France with the thermometer touching 19 degrees and cast off a few layers of clothing.

The atmosphere around French rugby is unique, from the club-coloured bars around the stadium to the partisan supporters throughout the home town.

French rugby sounds different too, with claxons and brass bands, megaphones and whistling. Then there’s the noise around the away team, with the jeers on their arrival and the cheers for any mistake, any dropped pass or any crooked lineout throw.

The players must feel they are at the centre of a personal vendetta at times.

And then there’s the noise around the goalkickers, not for them the silence of a Welford Road.

The food offerings are different too – with crusty baguettes in place of hotdogs and burgers in many rugby venues and, of course, tiny cups of thick black coffee.

Toulon’s town literally envelops the rugby club’s Stade Mayol. Halfway down the main street, next to a crossing for the harbour, there it is, squeezed in a stadium-shaped gap in a residential area.

The stadium is surrounded by apartment blocks where supporters can watch all the action from the comfort of their front rooms.

It is not for the claustrophic, with the rouge-et-noir crowd right on top of the teams and the noise bouncing off the walls inside and out.

You can see why protecting home territory is such a big deal in French provincial rugby – this is our town, these are our people, this is our rugby team. Even before the home team runs out on to the turf, the gauntlet has been firmly thrown down by their supporters. It is down to the visitors to prove they are up to the test.