Get Paulie in there to ref the game and we can get RTE or TV3 to televise it…
Azur Gaels were set up on September 24, 2015 by a GAA-loving Englishman and his French friend.
On Sunday, Gaels will play a Gaelic Football exhibition match against a crack GAA side at the Allianz Riveria Stadium, in front of an estimated 35,000 people, before Toulon’s league clash with Stade Francais.
Whirlwind doesn’t half explain it.
European rugby’s most dominant team have invited both GAA sides along to the stadium, in Nice, to showcase the skills of a sport that is flourishing across France.
At present, there are more than 600 people taking part in GAA across France. That number is expected to breach 1,000 by 2019. Brittany, in the North West, has its own league and cup competition for 10 local sides.
Sunday’s game, at the round where Toulon play their big Champions Cup and Top 14 fixtures, is between two of the country’s newest GAA outfits but, on posters and adverts, it is being billed as the champions of Europe against the champions of France.
Charley Cornillau and Richard Faul.Chard Faul has been playing Gaelic Football for the past few years and, in 2015, set upon the idea of founding a club in the south of France.
As chairman and co-founder of Azur Gaels, Faul told SportsJOE the invite to set the scene for Toulon vs. Stade Francais has exceeded his wildest dreams.
He says, “The club started with one Frenchman, Charley Cornillau, one Englishman and a ball.
“The Azur Gaels has gone from two blokes kicking scores between a pair of poplar trees to a fully-fledged GAA club invited to the home of RC Toulon in the space of four months.”
The exposure should really help the recruitment drive for new players as the year goes on.
Who knows, maybe Chard could convince Paul O’Connell, who has yet to play for Toulon, to make an appearance later in 2016.
