RCT Fan Recounts Flood-Stricken Escape, Condemns Club’s Decision to Delay Match
TOULON, FRANCE – A Toulon rugby Club (RCT) supporter, Diane, detailed a harrowing experience Sunday night as torrential rain flooded the area surrounding Mayol stadium following a late decision to postpone the team’s match against la Rochelle. Diane, who attended the game with her three children aged 7 to 14, described navigating streets with water “to the buttocks” and witnessing stranded vehicles near the Leygoutier river.
“I left before the maternal moment surely,” Diane recounted, “But it was already all flooded. In the street, my youngest son had water to the shoulders.” She ultimately diverted from main roads, taking higher routes to safety, expressing profound fear for her children throughout the ordeal. “What anxiety! It was hot.”
Diane sharply criticized the club’s handling of the situation, arguing the match should have been canceled earlier. “It’s scandalous,” she stated. “They postponed the start of the school year for three drops and there, they waited for the very last moment by putting us in danger. We have stayed for long minutes without really having any details. The dancers were on the lawn, music thoroughly as if the match was going to start, when we were already in a pouring rain and that it was rumbling everywhere. There was 15 centimeters of water on the lawn.It was the storm.”
Adding to her frustration, Diane revealed her younger son had been scheduled to participate in a youth tournament on the Mayol lawn earlier in the day, which was canceled due to the weather. She and other parents then purchased last-minute tickets to attend the evening match, trusting the club’s decision to proceed with the professional game. “And that’s the result,” she said.
Another attendee, Martin, a 46-year-old stone tailor, reported needing a freind’s assistance to reach home at midnight, finding water “up to the lower windows” of his car. Some vehicles were swept away or collided with each other, he said.
