How to wind up the opposition... The French way
What follows took place at a recent ( July ) competition in southern France. This was a major event ( " National de petanque " ) attended by many top French players including the world champions Quintet, Suchaux and Lacroix (who picked up £1000 each for just turning up, not bad for a day's work! But that's another story... ) .
During one game, one team got very upset because their opponents were completely disregarding the " feet inside the circle " rule when pointing or shooting. When they got the coch back, the " upset " trio threw it and the pointer placed an excellent boule 2 cm from the coch. The other team took a while to take stock of the situation ( as all French players tend to do ! ) and then walked back to the start of play. They looked and searched but could not find the circle. So they asked their opponents : " Where is the circle? We can't find it " . The reply came quickly as sharp as a Pastis without water : " Since you haven't bothered standing in it since the beginning of the game, we haven't bothered making one ! ". I understand that under a fierce sun and extreme heat the players almost exchanged blows... These French players just can't take the pressure !
Submitted by Jean-Louis Guiot