Enquiries to my colleagues did not yield much more information. 'It's fifty kilometres east of Lyon,' said one. 'It's a mixture of Castleford, Scunthorpe and Barrow-in-furness,' was the description given by another.

Armed with this information I decided that the most sensible course of action was to fly into Lyon, drive to Bourgoin and then beat a hasty retreat to the metropolis to enjoy the cuisine and fine wines of the area.

As night fell and we were on our way along the autoroute it was evident that we had made the correct decision. Once we had reached the outskirts of town it seemed that the inhabitants of rural France take to their beds much earlier than us Celts. The streets were deserted with no sign of life anywhere.

We were here to cover the match between Bourgoin and Llanelli. The Welsh were quietly optimistic that they would come away with a victory; after all they were the first Welsh club to win on French soil in the Heineken Cup (during the 1999/2000 season).

Pontypridd had come close in their encounter with Brive in 1997/98, but thanks to an inept performance by the Scottish referee, who was clearly intimidated by the home crowd, they narrowly lost the match to the team from the Dordogne.

However, on this occasion, things did not go well for Llanelli - they were completely outplayed in all departments and lost to the more exciting, creative Bourgoin team who after eighty minutes had amassed a score of 54 points. Once the match was over, and the reports were completed, we were only too eager to return to the bright lights of Lyon having found Bourgoin to be bleak and uninteresting.

Whereas we in Wales consider the Heineken competition to be the 'Holy Grail' of club rugby, the raison d'être of the regions, the situation in France is somewhat different. The dilemma there is to target either the Heineken Cup or the Championnat. It is the latter which forms the focus of attention every season at Bourgoin and the reason is simple - they have never won the competition. For a hundred years they have fought to their utmost, but apart from one appearance in the final in 1997, when they lost to Toulouse by 12-6, they have never been successful, and it hurts!

One can understand, therefore, why Julien Bonnaire's team demonstrate a certain reticence where the H cup is concerned. They give their all when playing at home, but seem to wind down a gear when travelling, thus reserving their best performances for the Championnat, and an all-out quest for glory. And in a way who can blame them. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to be present at the Stade de France on a balmy, Saturday evening in June amongst 80,000 passionate supporters cannot fail to be caught up in the enthusiasm.

Over the last decade in the Championnat, Bourgoin have performed creditably against the French giants consistently boasting some notable scalps. Unfortunately, they seem to succumb at the final stages, leaving the competition in either the quarter or semi final stages and by a margin of a few points. They are undoubtedly a very competitive side, and when the outside half, Benjamin Boyet, is at his best, a difficult team to beat. The French rugby pundits and the weekly rugby magazine 'Midi Olympique' are adamant that Boyet should be steering the fortunes of the tricolor in this season's Six Nations Championship. Sadly, it seems that Bernard Laporte does not consider many players who don't play for the big three - Stade Français, Toulouse and Biarritz. Perhaps it was fortunate for the Blues that Boyet was not at his best in their earlier encounter in October.

It has to be said at this point that although the media constantly heap praise on the Scarlets for their achievements in making two semi-finals, Cardiff is the only Welsh club to have made it to the final losing by three points to Toulouse in extra time in season 1995/96. For my part, my perception of Bourgoin has changed significantly since that first visit with the Scarlets.

After strolling around the town in the warm Autumn sunshine of last October during the Blues encounter, I was most impressed by the hospitality and friendliness of the locals. There will be no more frantic drives back and forth to Lyon! Any future visits will be spent in the vicinity of the Stade Pierre Rajon, and who knows - if Julien Bonnaire's team make it the Championnat final in 2007 we may even arrange a weekend trip to support them. 'Allez Bourgoin' - but not this weekend. During this particular encounter it will be 'Allez les Bleus' or 'Ymlaen y Gleision'.

Alun Wyn Bevan
Le Rygbi