France U18s win the European Championship and give hope to the future

France's Under 18 were recently crowned European champions with a convincing 57-0 victory over Georgia in Toulouse.

Head coach Thierry Gatieneau's young side impressively saw off defending champions England 23-18 in the semi-final, before claiming the title.

While the national side has been a shadow of its former self at the highest level, the junior teams have performed admirably and have become a cause for optimism for a federation that is desperate for success of any kind.

Interestingly, the European victory comes 10 years after France claimed its last major youth title.

In 2006,…