French lessons help Peter Lydon get set for London Scottish test
Irishman Lydon, a Leinster age-group graduate, was picked up by the Parisians last summer after impressing for Dublin club, Seaport. He failed to win a new contract but says the experienced gained was invaluable.
“My move came about after my coach at Seaport sent videos to a contact he had at Stade Francais, Richard Pool-Jones,” Lydon, 21, said.
“They invited me to train and I had a skills session with Diego Dominguez, after which they got me over again and asked me to join their academy.
“When I first went I was just trying to get established and get a few academy games, but they put me on the bench for the first Top 14 match and, a couple of weeks later, I came off the bench to make my debut against Castres.
“That was really getting thrown in the deep end, but I played a lot of Amlin Cup after that and it was good to get further game time.
“It was a fantastic experience, especially with having two international 10s to help in Morne Steyn and Jules Plisson. It was massive having those guys around, plus even more experienced guys like David Lyons and Sergio Parisse.
“Just being around guys like that allows you to ask questions and get tips before games, and being out there was huge for my career.”
Regular rugby is Lydon’s aim now, which is why he was happy to swap being a bit-part player in Paris for the chance to spearhead Scottish’s challenge.
“I’ve only been here a short while but you can already see we’ve got a seriously talented side with a lot of ambitious guys,” Lydon said.
“We can go a long way and we’ve got to be looking at the top four, then anything can happen, as we saw with London Welsh last season.”
NEALE HARVEY
