School Preseason Rugby Tour to the South of France

Get your team ready for the season ahead with a school preseason rugby tour to the South of France! Not only is this a beautiful part of the world, with a deep passion for rugby, it also offers one of the best training complexes in the country.

La Cité Verte in Hagetmau boasts world-class facilities, including an Olympic swimming pool, athletics track, various pitches, a dojo, fitness centre and gymnasium to name just a few. You can also stay on-site, allowing you to focus all your time and energy on training.

Fancy having the entire thing to yourselves, so you can use any of the facilities whenever you want, and crank the music up in the gym? We can arrange this! There are also some great opportunities to take on local opposition should you wish to challenge your team.

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1

Morning

Afternoon

Evening

Meet executive coach and depart for the South of France, crossing the Channel at Dover

Day 2

Morning

Stop in Saintes for a training session and lunch

Afternoon

Continue on to training venue

Evening

Arrive at training venue Check in to accommodation Evening meal and orientation Light training session and stretches

Day 3

Morning

Training session in sports hall Light resistance work in pool

Afternoon

Grass pitch training session Split in to forwards and backs, and rotate between gym and sports hall

Evening

Opportunity to watch a Top 14 game

Day 4

Morning

Heavy weight gym session Backs - work on speed and agility on the athletics track Forwards - work on lineouts in the sports hall

Afternoon

Grass pitch training session Dojo (with specialist flooring) for contact skills Pool for rehab and light resistance work

Evening

DVD night in meeting room

Day 5

Morning

Grass pitch training session

Afternoon

Half-day beach excursion

Evening

Work on contact skills in dojo Yoga and stretching in sports hall

Day 6

Morning

Training on grass pitches Rehab and light resistance work in pool

Afternoon

Work on contact skills in dojo Final training session on grass pitches Stretches and yoga in sports hall Team meeting

Evening

Check out of accommodation Board coach and depart for Calais

Day 7

Morning

Afternoon

Ferry crossing from Calais to Dover

Evening

Arrive home

4 nights' full-board accommodation
Free access to all facilities incl. pool, gym, pitches, sports hall, athletics track, dojo with specialist flooring and meeting rooms
Executive coach hire
Training session and meal in France on the way to accommodation
Services of a French-speaking tour courier throughout tour
Free staff place ratio 1:10
Detailed information pack
Itinerary planning service
VAT

Accommodation

La Cité Verte

La Cité Verte is a self-contained complex built specifically for sports training. The accommodation is at the very centre of the complex, so you can literally roll out of bed and into training! With an overall capacity of 96, rooms sleep one to four, and are split across four pavillions with shared bathroom facilities. Larger beds are available for taller athletes.

Excursions

Hossegor Beach

Hossegor is very popular with surfers thanks to the incredible waves here.

Watch a Professional Rugby Fixture - Section Paloise

Watch local side Section Paloise in an exciting Top 14 match.

Supporting you every step of the way

Creating your perfect sports tour

Your quote will be put together by an experienced Tour Adviser who’ll be an expert in school sports tours and will know the destination really well too. They’ll work with you to create a tour to suit your group’s needs and meet your tour objectives.

Launching your tour to parents and students

The next step is to get your tour approved and then get students signed up to it. Our ‘Trip Launch Pack’ will help you with this step. Here you’ll find loads of resources (all free to download) designed to make your life easier at this crucial point in the planning process.

After you’ve booked

Once you’ve booked, your dedicated Itinerary Coordinator will start working on the finer details. They’ll make sure your itinerary makes the most of your time and they’ll take on most of the admin tasks for your tour (making the whole process a lot less stressful for you).

Support while you’re away

While you’re out on tour, we’ll be at the end of the phone 24 hours a day to provide support should you need it. We’ll also send you a final info pack before you go and you’ll be able to access all your tour documents via the free Vamoos app.

After your trip

When you return from your sports tour, we’ll ask you to complete a detailed feedback survey, which helps us continue to improve the service we offer. And we can start planning your next tour too, so you can give parents plenty of time to pay for it (and so it’s less stressful for you).