A SQUAD of 26 boys from Maldon Rugby Club's under-14s were victorious at an international festival in Provins, a town south-east of Paris.
The boys were greeted by the town mayor and sang the national anthem in front of 2,000 people, ably led by coach Nick Summers.
They then took part in a rugby parade through the town being being applauded into the stadium.
Wins on day one against Chinnor RFC, from England, Lieage, from Belgium, and Pays Meaux, from France, put the boys in a strong position, but on day two they were forced to play their best rugby against local side Fontainbleau, for a hard fought 5-5 draw.
Following a further win against Chinnor A, the boys had booked their place in the final against a very mobile Dunkerque side.
The result was never in doubt and Wayne Buckley picked from the base of a ruck on the Dunkerque 22 and powered through two tackles to score the only try of the game. Dunkerque never gave up but Maldon won 5-0.
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