A WEE COUNTY photographer bumped into a group of 20 Alloa residents in France there to cheer on Scotland in the Rugby World Cup.

Bryan Robertson was in Lille to photograph Scotland’s match with Romania when he met the group as part of their Road to France charity fundraiser.

The Clacks group travelled to France to take over a pub in each city and raise money for the My Name’5 Doddie charity.

Bryan went to the pub out of curiosity about the project and was delighted when he bumped into some familiar faces.

Speaking to the Advertiser, he said: “There’s a Facebook group called Road to France and they’ll take over a pub and declare it as their embassy for the long weekend.

“I went along to meet up with these guys in Lille and the pub was just full of Scots and they’re all wearing Scottish rugby jerseys.

“I was walking through it and I overheard someone mention Alloa and I asked them if they knew somebody I knew.

“They recognised me as the photographer so we started chatting. It was pretty funny as out of nowhere, all these people were here that I haven’t seen in around 40 years and we’re having a chat as if it were yesterday.”

Bryan was set up at the Scotland v Romania match and put out a call for any Scotland fans who wished to have their photo taken to get in touch.

The Wee County group responded and Bryan managed to get a great shot of them with his long camera lens.

The Road to France scheme raises money for charities by selling flags to Scottish groups around each city.

The pubs they take over also agree to give them a share of the takings for any business they receive throughout their stay.

The group mainly raises money for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and this year also fundraised for Hearts and Balls and the Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation.

Bryan added: “They would meet on the Saturday at a local rugby club then march with their flags and a piper to the rugby stadium.

“By all accounts, it was pretty magical and it was amazing to run into these guys and get their pictures.”

Gary Mcphail was part of the group that travelled over to France for the Rugby World Cup and bumped into Bryan.

He spoke to the Advertiser and described the experience as “one big party” following Scotland.

“The atmosphere was just excellent,” Gary said. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to follow Scotland.

“Most of the guys from Alloa Rugby Club were there, we arranged to meet up and it became one big party.

“We all had a great time and it was great seeing Bryan and he got a lot of good photos of the group.”