FROM Agincourt to Waterloo, a rivalry has always existed between the French and English.

The French have decided to reignite that rivalry with the country ‘s largest sports retailer moving into Brighton’s North Street to go head to head with its English competitor.

Decathlon, which opened its first store in 1976 in Lille, has set up shop directly next to Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct.

Both sell sports equipment, clothing and shoes, but which will the people of Brighton and Hove prefer.

One week on from its opening we took to North Street yesterday to find out how both were getting on.

Dave Burtenshaw, from Brighton, is a loyal Sports Direct customer and said it was a risky move by Decathlon to move in.

He said: “I think Decathlon’s bosses are brave setting up right next door to Sports Direct.

“I wouldn’t have done it given the choice.

“I personally prefer Sports Direct because it offers me more as I am a golfer. I was in Decathlon at the weekend but they don’t have as much for me.”

Mr Burtenshaw, 45, added: “It will be interesting to see how they get on against Sports Direct.”

Sports Direct, owned by Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley, offers a range of goods, with a focus on mainstream sports such as football and tennis.

There are scores of football shirts, vintage and modern, along with hundreds of pairs of boots to choose from.

Decathlon, which also covers mainstream sports, has more in the way of adventure sports and more niche sports such as skiing and horse riding. The French retailer is also well known for its cycling range. This could give Decathlon the edge with more and more people taking to two wheels.

Lee Hardy said he will be giving both shops a go, and said the two shops offer good variety between them.

He said: “Sports Direct is slightly cheaper and I think it definitely has more range - the clothes look nicer.

“But if I want something more sports-specific I would go to Decathlon because they edge it.”

Some customers felt Decathlon is better organised compared to Sports Direct, while others said the quality of the store’s own brands were equally as good as names such as Nike and Adidas.

However, some felt Sports Direct has more to offer children.

When we visited yesterday, Decathlon certainly appeared to be attracting plenty of shoppers, including those who had just come out of Sports Direct.