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The Feltonfleet boys under 11 rugby team went to Dublin this year on an end of season tour during the Winter half-term. This was a fantastic opportunity for the Feltonfleet boys and many of their enthusiastic parents to experience not only rugby in a different country but also to experience one of the key part of playing sport, touring!

The boys would play three matches over two days and stay in Dublin the week-end of half-term. They played their matches against my old school and rugby club Terenure College in the south of Dublin. First up on the Saturday was the Terenure school Under 11 team who had been training hard in preparation. This proved to be a big challenge for the Feltonfleet boys and although they were beaten, the manner in which they stuck to their task made for very proud viewing. All agreed that while we had tackled ourselves to a stand still that we could lean a lot from Terenure and their brand of contact Rugby.

On the Sunday morning we played against the Terenure Rugby club in two matches. The first team we played was the U11 development team and during this game we started to show some of our potential. This was a solid 35-5 victory.

On to the finale of the tour against Rugby club U11. This was to turn out be a classic and ended in a 14-14 draw. The boys by the end of this match had put their bodies on the line and had all the bruises to go along with the effort. Elliot Hall was the two try hero and Jerome Greeno the defensive rock making tackle after tackle, but this is to single out but two of the touring 14 who gave absolutely everything.

Playing rugby was not the only activity on the agenda, the boys got a chance to go to the National Aquatic centre, see Leinster defeat the Cardiff Blues in the Magners, meeting some of the players league as well as some top meals out in Dublin. All in all, this was an exhausting but memorable experience.

Mr. Garner, who was with me every step of the way, and I would like to thank the boys (and their parents) for the experience and their commitment to making this such a successful tour.

Well done!!

JP Doyle