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The Rugby Riviera - A glimpse into the lives of English players at Toulon

BY Grant Constable  ·  Wednesday Oct 17, 2012

We recently featured an interview with Jonny Wilkinson talking about life and rugby in France, but here is an extended look at not only Wilkinson, but a few of the other English stars plying their trade at table topping Toulon.

Sky Sports went to Toulon to find out how life is treating the English players at the Top 14 leaders, ahead of the Heineken Cup. There’s six in total, not to mention players such as Bakkies Botha, Matt Giteau, David Smith, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, and many other top internationals.

Steffon Armitage is one English player that has made a big impact at the club, and now has his brother Delon playing alongside him, as well as Simon Shaw, Nick Kennedy, and Andrew Sheridan.

Toulon have high hopes for not only domestic rugby, but the Heineken Cup too as they have set out to win the tournament, spearheaded by their charismatic club president, Mourad Boudjellal. 

The self made comic-book millionaire has succesfully built a squad based around more than just a bunch of talented players. He believes that the work ethic of the English players in particular has been a key ingredient in why they have been succesful there so far.

“A lot of people think Toulon is a club with a millionaire and no soul and that I spend endless sums of money to get the best players in the world, like a team on PlayStation, but it is now self-financed,” he said.

Below are the two parts to Rugby Riviera, 9:53 and 10:39 minutes long respectively

Credit to Sky Sports for the special report

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