The game was organised as part of Nantes’s official cultural programme for the Rugby World Cup, supported by the Office Municipal du Sport in Nantes.
The game was played at Le Stade Laporte, in the city centre, following a tournament of boys’ U14s rugby, which included teams of representative players from Cardiff and the Vale.
Unfortunately, after travelling for almost 17 hours the task of playing a very well drilled squad of ladies from SNCU Nantes was daunting for the Tyly girls, and with changes to the rulings such as no contested scrums, no hand-offs, no scrum half to follow and no No.8 pick up, the Welsh girls were left wondering what exactly they were allowed to do.
Tylorstown’s then took another big blow, when their No.8 had a very badly dislocated knee within the first few minutes. Everything seemed to be going the French way, but with outstanding tackling form the whole team and great pace form the Tyly backs, the girls kept them at bay.
The spectators, which included a large contingency from Abercwmboi RFC, were treated to a fine display of rugby and the Welsh girls held their heads up high.
The Nantes Ladies then escorted the visiting team, as guests of the city, to the Wales v Fiji Rugby World Cup clash which was followed by an evening of entertainment.
Many thanks goes to Alan Shepard of UWIC, who was of fantastic assistance with the French emergency services following injuries. Also, many thanks go to the Tylorstown captain Rachel Gibbons for organising the trip at such short notice.