A group of students from King James’s High School in Huddersfield recently had the opportunity to visit and play rugby league in Perpignan.

IN AUGUST a group of students from King James’s High School in Huddersfield made their way over to Perpignan to take part in their first ever overseas rugby game. Staff at the school identified a number of year 9 students who would benefit from the trip along with supplementing them with a few keen rugby league players from year 10 and one year 8 student.

The trip saw both boys and girls make up a tour party of 30 as the boys took on XIII Catalan in a fiercely contested game on the Saturday morning while the girls took part in an organised training session on the Stade Gilbert Brutus pitch with the Catalans Dragons ladies team ahead of the Catalans Dragons game against Wigan on the Saturday evening. 

In the build up to the trip, the boys had taken part in a number of games against local schools while also taking part in coaching sessions which were attended by UK-based French players, particularly Eloi Pelissier, Matthieu Pons and Mathieu Cozza who took time out of their training schedules with Oldham and Wakefield respectively to offer their assistance to the students.

Thursday lunchtime saw the group head to Huddersfield train station as they made their way over the Pennines to Manchester Airport for their departure to Barcelona. The students were in high spirits as they checked in ahead of their departure, however, for the one student who had never flown before, landing into torrential rain and a thunderstorm was something he could have done without. 

After drying off in the terminal, the group collected their luggage before heading outside to look for the Catalans Sports Tours coach which was heading to their base in Perpignan. Two hours later and now in France – with some unable to work out why they didn’t need to show their passports again – and the students were checking into their hotel for the next three nights. With the children excited and unable to sleep, one staff member, when  conducting room checks, walked in on one student midway through having his head shaved into a Mohawk style.

Friday saw the students arrive for breakfast before heading up to the Stade Gilbert Brutus to observe Catalans training before photos with the players and a stadium tour where they got to meet club CEO Sebastien Munoz and club media manager, Yannick Rey. The group also received a history lesson on French rugby league which was music to the ears of Mr Widdop who is a history teacher at the school. 

Back into town and the group had lunch and a brief tour of Perpignan before gaining some free time in the town and were able to grab a snack, ice-cream and do some shopping before heading back to the hotel to get showered and changed in preparation for dinner.

Dinner was at the historic Café Vienne in the town centre and France head coach, Laurent Frayssinous attended to welcome the group and give some insights ahead of their game on Saturday. Frayssinous then handed out the commemorative shirts that had been made up for the tour for each player and posed for photos with the students and chatted to them before a range of pizzas were delivered to the tables for the group to devour. A trip to the ice-cream shop and the supermarket on the way back to the hotel was a good end to a great first full day.

Saturday brought breakfast at the hotel as the bus arrived at 9:45 to take the group the fifteen minute journey to the Stade St Assiscle, home of the XIII Catalan team. The team arrived to a warm welcome from their opposition and in a unique break from tradition, XIII Catalan invited King James’s to join them for the warm-up and some skills before the game. It was great to see players from both teams interacting together as they warmed up, and one staff member even kicked-off his flip-flops to join in and make up the numbers. 

When the game did start, it was played in great spirits. Both sides looked to gain the territorial edge. A smart short-side play saw King James’s open the scoring through Oscar Marsden as the visitors took a 4-0 lead. Things got better for King James’s as Max Sanderson-Dent crossed to take an 8-0 lead into half time. 

After the break, the heat and the loss of influential halfback Owen Neilly saw the hosts come back into the game as they scored two tries to level the game heading into the final three minutes. Momentum was with the French side and they scored their third try of the game in the dying moments to snatch victory.

Following the game, both sides made their way into the XIII Catalan clubhouse where King James’s were presented with a XIII Catalan jersey and all players presented with medals for their participation in the tour before the hosts laid on a magnificent BBQ for the visitors.

Drinks, food and camaraderie that can only be found in rugby league followed as players from both teams exchanged social media contacts so they can stay in touch after the trip before the bus arrived to take the group back into Perpignan for a late lunch.

It was now the girls time to take centre stage on the tour as the group headed back to the Stade Gilbert Brutus for their training session on the field before the Catalans-Wigan game that evening. The girls took part in the over one hour session with the Catalans Dragons ladies players and coaches before posing for photos with Catalans and Wigan players and staff as they arrived for the game. 

Ahead of the game, Wigan head coach Matt Peet headed over to talk to the group, joking with one player that ‘he wouldn’t get in his team with that haircut’ before further visits from Shaun Wane, Shaun Edwards, Elliott Whitehead, Bernard Guasch and Benjamin Garcia only added to the experience of the group who were having a great time. The Catalans game saw the group (and Billy the Haircut as he became known) shown on Sky Sports as the teams emerged from the tunnel much to their delight as the videos came flooding in from parents, family and friends back home. After the game it was back to the hotel after a long day.

Sunday saw the bus pick up at 10am and head to Canet so the students could recover and relax a little following a strenuous day. A walk down the beach to the always popular Pizzatheque saw the group warmly greeted by the Pelissier family who offered a range of pizzas for the group. Students were allowed to head over the road to the beach and into the sea (supervised by staff) and threw rugby balls around and played a bit of beach rugby and thoroughly enjoyed themselves before the wind started to pick up. It was back to the Pizzatheque for pasta and to watch the football on the big screen before the bus came to collect a tired group and take them back to the hotel.

Most took the opportunity to head to their rooms, pack and head to bed for an early night before a 4am breakfast call on Monday morning. There weren’t many bright eyes as the group headed into the hotel breakfast room, it was straight onto the bus and back to sleep for the majority on the two-hour journey back to Barcelona ready to board the flight back to Manchester.

A two-hour delay couldn’t dampen the spirits of the students who had a thoroughly enjoyable time, for many it was their first experience of France and many are already planning a return game in 2026.

It would be remiss not to mention the great sponsors who helped to fund the shirts for the students to play in during the tour, Stafflex Education, Clarion Solicitors, Harwood & Co Solicitors, VX-3, Bengal Aroma, Hearth, Catalans Sports Tours and our very own Rugby League World were all willing and valuable sponsors and the students, staff and school thank them wholeheartedly for their support.

Final credit goes to every student who took part. Their behaviour was exemplary and although it wasn’t quite the result they wanted as they headed out on the adventure, they all gained far more from the trip.

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 513 (October 2025)