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The Rugby Cats in France: The Full Blog

By Saint Ignatius Rugby, 04/05/17, 10:15AM EDT

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A day-by-day blog of the team's trip is collected below. At the bottom, the game box scores are available. 

Day 1, by Gabriel Oliss '18:

Despite a seven-hour flight through the night, our first day in Paris was a fairly active one. Persisting through our exhaustion, upon arrival we did a bit of wandering throughout the city in order to get a sense of the place and try some authentic French food. For us that was banana crepes from a quaint little restaurant on the side of the road.

After that we gathered to go to the Basilica of Sacré Coeur with Coach Arbeznik as our guide. While on the 15-minute hike to the top of the hill, we encountered many opportunities to capture the beauty of the city from above. Once we reached the top, Coach Arbeznik taught us about the rich history of the basilica including: how the basilica maintains its bright appearance (calcite emitted from the travertine stone), that the basilica was a means of redeeming sins of the French in the years before, and that the largest bell in France—at over 55,000lbs—remains there.

Residing on the front of the Basilica are two statues, one honoring Joan of Arc, and the other honoring St. Louis, who purchased the crown of thorns that Jesus wore. Inside the basilica there is also one of the largest mosaics in the world.

Following the visit to the Basilica, we ventured on to find a market full of works of art made by locals of the area, a church that replaced an old temple for pagans worshipping the god Mars, and eventually we made it to La Pignatta for an Italian dinner as a team, effectively concluding the activities of our first day in Paris.

Day 2, by Nick Zolikoff '18:

Today was our second day in Paris, and we started it off by visiting the Louvre. 

Coach Arbeznik took us around the museum, explaining the works of art. We saw a lot of paintings, including the Mona Lisa. 

There were many paintings from Roman time periods, all holding one central idea, the state above family. Without a guide like Coach Arbeznik, we would have been just looking at art without any meaning behind it. 

Next, we went to prepare for the match today against an under 18 French rugby team. The players on their team were very skilled fundamentally, but we still won the game. It was a physical game and to our surprise, as soon as the game ended they began cheering and were very kind to all of us. 

One French player shouted something in French and one of our players translated it to mean, "let's take a family picture."  After that, we all took a picture with the teams mixed together.  After that we all traded clothes with the other team so that they could have some Ignatius gear and we could have some of their French club gear. 

Then, we went out to dinner with them and they gave us baguettes with cheese and ham. The French were very friendly and a few even promised to come see our other games while we are in France. 

At the end of the day, we had a great match and a great time with our rugby family from France.

Day 3, by Carl Felder '19:

Today, the rugby team did some traveling to visit a place anyone in America would want to go - Versailles.

When we arrived, it was the most awesome thing I have seen since I have been here. There was so much gold outside and inside the building, it was unbelievable. 

Coach Arbeznik explained that it cost the French a fortune to make the golden fence. It was torn down during the French Revolution, and later rebuilt in 2008, costing $4 million. 

Louis XIII, the predecessor of Louis XIV, who lived in the place, had a vast amount of power. Louis XIII was a smart guy, and he had taste. 

When I say taste, I mean he had an enormous garden with lots of beautiful fountains, statues, and grass cut into different shapes. It was mind blowing. 

When the rugby guys gathered back together, they all said they had a fantastic time. 

Not only we learn about the history of Versailles, we we also discovered it by looking at the art work that's Louis XIV and his other siblings created. 

And after visiting St. Peter of Montmartre Church this afternoon, we'll see Notre Dame tomorrow.

Day 4, by Matt Lipaj '17:

The Rugby ‘Cats started off busy Sunday with a trip to Notre Dame Cathedral.

After a long ride on the metro, the team gathered on the banks of the La Seine River, eager to see the Cathedral. Although Mass was going on inside, we climbed to the top of the Cathedral where we saw a beautiful view of Paris.

Senior Chris Fedor claimed that this was his favorite part of the trip so far, as he was amazed by the gothic architecture of the Cathedral.

After visiting Notre Dame Cathedral, Coach Dan Arbeznik '00 led us on a walking tour of the Latin Quarter, in which we saw the oldest clock and oldest tree in all of Paris. After Coach’s tour concluded, the team was given time to explore the area on our own.

A few hours later, the team boarded the metro and we headed to a professional match between Stade Francais Paris and RC Toulonnais.

The stadium was packed and the team was amazed with the atmosphere of the game as Stade Francais Paris pulled out a 17-11 victory in a hard fought game.

Overall, today was an action packed Sunday that no one will forget!

Day 5, by Juan Pen '18:

Editor's Note: The Rugby Cats faced Lycee Sorel Albert on Monday afternoon, defeating the hosts, 17-12. Pen played the full 70 minutes, scoring two tries. 

Coming in, I didn't really know what to expect playing kids from France.

I knew they would all be skilled and have great knowledge of the game. At home in the United States, there are so few opportunities to learn and to play growing up, which differs some from the experience in France.

Playing with the language barrier can be tough at times, but it was a great experience for the most part. The sir having to relay the calls in two languages did make things more challenging.

The good part about it is that there is no trash talk or as much complaining, because we don't understand each other. It makes for a more pure game.

Throughout the game, you could sense the mutual respect between both sides. Then, you could see it even more after the game with all the hugs and the tunnels they made for us to run through.

This experience will stay with me for a long time after the trip is over and really makes me appreciate the game so much more.

Day 6, by Mike Mangan '19: 

Rise and shine. The Cats had an early start to their sixth day of the trip.
 
The team, eager to start their expedition, hopped on the bus. The sight to see today was Normandy Beach and the Normandy Cemetery.
 
The first stop was Longues Sur-Mer and some German gun batteries, followed by Normandy/American Cemetery, the final resting place of over 9,000 soldiers from World War II. This experience was inspiring and just plain moving. Many of those boys were not much older than us when they gave their lives for our freedom.
 
After the Cemetery, the team got a quick and lunch and was off to its next stop –Omaha Beach.
 
Omaha Beach was a key place in the invasion of France in World War II. Omaha Beach is the main beach where D-Day happened, and home to many casualties of young American men.
 
The Wildcats had a really awe-inspiring time. As you looked at the ocean, you had that little revelation that you were standing so many Americans came to fight for our country.
 
After a long and tiring bus ride, the Cats finally landed at the beautiful Saint-Malo, where they quickly unpacked and went to explore the town. To end the night the team and parents went to a gorgeous restaurant where the main course was beef. At this dinner, both the parents and Coach Arbeznik '00 were thanked for their efforts on the trip.
 
This experience of seeing the beaches will stay with me forever because of the immense amount of history that happened there.

Day 7, by John Stuhldreher '19:

On Wednesday, the Rugby Cats made the climb up to the Abbey of Mont Saint Michel. It was a great experience for the team to see stunning views, a gorgeous city, and a beautiful church at the top.

While I got to see and enjoy the same sights as the rest of the team, my experience was a bit different.

Because of a broken leg I had suffered in our second game against Lycée Albert Sorel, I found that making it up the many, many stairs to the top of the island was quite difficult.

But with my coaches, teammates, and some great friends like Sean Soder, Aidan Gill, Juan Penn, and Joe Molnar I made it up the stairs (mostly by piggyback).

But I think more important than seeing the sights was a time to bond with the team off the field in a truly beautiful place.

Day 8, by Aidan Gill '18: 

To start our day, we opened up with a training session with a couple of local pro players, one of which having played for the French national team.

This experience was a real eye opener because of the amount of detail and techniques we were able to learn. Practicing with these guys could be comparable to working with pro NBA or NFL players in the U.S.

Saying this was a unique opportunity for the team would be an understatement.

Following the training session, we played our final match in France, against a tough team in RC Courbevoie.

We wanted to go out on top and that is exactly what we did. We opened up the game hot with early scores and overall domination from our forwards, namely Sean Soeder, Juan Pen, and our Scrum-Half Eddie Patton.

We grinded out the second half battling through minor injuries and set backs, and eventually won the game. This being our last game in France, the contest had special significance and we will never forget the hospitality and great experiences we had here playing against these guys.

3/24: Game 1 vs. Sporting Club Universitaire de France

1st (20 minute periods)
SIHS: Jimmy Desmarteau from Juan Pen (conversion no good)
SIHS: Alex Chura from Eddie Patton (conversion no good)
SCUF: Try, conversion no good
10-5 Saint Ignatius

2nd:
SIHS: Brian Cook from Alex Chura (conversion no good)
SIHS: Carl Felder (conversion good, Chris Fedor)
22-5 Saint Ignatius

3rd: 
SCUF: Try, conversion no good
SIHS: Nick Zolikoff (conversion good, Chris Fedor)
29-10 Saint Ignatius

3/27: Game 2 vs. Lycee Albert Sorel

1st (35 minute periods)
SIHS: Juan Pen from Chris Fedor (conversion no good)
SIHS: Juan Pen (conversion no good)
LAS: Try, conversion good
10-7 Saint Ignatius

2nd: 
LAS: Try, conversion no good
SIHS: Aidan Gill (conversion good, Chris Fedor)
17-12 Saint Ignatius

3/30: Game 3 vs. RC Courbevoie

1st:
SIHS: Aidan Gill from Josef O'Brien (conversion good, Chris Fedor)
SIHS: Jimmy Desmarteau (conversion no good)
SIHS: Sean Soeder (conversion no good)
SIHS: Eddie Patton (conversion good, Chris Fedor)

2nd: 
RCC: Try, conversion good
RCC: Try, conversion good
SIHS: Juan Pen (conversion no good)
29-14 Saint Ignatius