Rugby Tour Feb 2010

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Ireland Rugby Tour 2010 Report

On Monday 15th Feb 20 year 7 and 8 boys embarked on a rugby tour to Ireland during the school’s half-term. The boys even at 6.00am in the morning were excited but obviously at this stage had no idea what trials and tribulations would await them on foreign soil.

At Heathrow , one of the world’s largest airports, we made ourselves known when firstly a member of the BMI staff commented on how polite and well mannered our boys were when checking in. We then made ourselves known further, when a member of our party was caught with liquid in the security section of the airport. Cue sirens, security and police and the smallest member of the party having to fish out a bottle of Ribenna and down it in front of them. Time to think…..

On arrival in Ireland we were met by a tour guide and our bus driver Mick, (more about him later on). Even though we had endured a 25 minute delay in the UK, everything was going fairly smoothly until, our tour guide handed me the itinerary. The good news was that we still had 3 matches and all excursions were still going ahead. The bad news was that the 3 matches were against 3 different teams in 3 different locations. Not a massive problem only that we had a group of Dad’s (more about them later on) and families who had travelled separately to come and support and watch the games.

Frantic phone calls, boys changing on the coach, Mick putting on music to calm the mood and eventually we departed for our first fixture.

Castle Knock

Castle Knock looked like a grey school with mass open fields surrounded by a combination of housing and industry. It was raining, we were late and worn out, and the boys, well the boys were just being boys. We were led onto the pitch which was claggy and sticky, not ideal conditions for fast flowing rugby. We then had an opportunity to see our opposition. They were big, strong lads, I’m not saying that had beards but certainly tattoos. The game started and it was clear to see that our boys were going to have to tackle their hearts out, and tackle they did across every area of the pitch. This did not come without loses. Eddy Haynes left the pitch with a lump the size of a golf ball below his eye, in boxing terms it would be called a mouse, this was more like a rat. At half-time we trailed 14- 0. In the second half we tired and although we competed and created opportunities to score, ultimately size and power won through and Castle knock ran out winners 33- 0.

That evening we checked into our Dublin hotel and took the boys out for an Italian dinner. As a geographer, Mr.Rochford was given the role of map reader to find the restaurant. The five minute walked turned into a hour half tour of the many sights and sounds that Dublin has to offer. In every sense of the word is was the scenic route at best.

Go Karting

The following morning and after a large breakfast, the boys were taken to the outskirts Dublin to a 365 yard indoor Go-Kart track. The facility was very good and the excitement levels from the boys reached a new height. It was amazing to see the vast difference in driving skills, from the pure fast, furious, recklessness that many depicted, to the odd driver, who was driving as if carrying a caravan down the A303 for the weekend., waving their hand to usher the boy racers past.

From the go kart centre we drove north to our second fixture against Malahide RFC. Whilst on the journey we asked Mick the driver where we were just so we could fathom our bearings. His response was that we were going south but we needed to go north and that we were not east of the city. Miraculously we made the fixture on time and without getting lost, and what a facility it was. Right on the coast with one of the best club houses I have seen in a long time. http://malahiderfc.ie/

Malahide

We were very excited at the prospect of playing on the first team pitch as the surface was excellent the weather conditions good, all pointing to good fast flowing rugby that we wanted to play. The warm-up had been good and looking at our counterparts we were pleased to see that there wasn’t a tattoo or beard in sight. Unfortunately, from the outset of the match, it was clear to see that our boys were still reeling from the previous days exploits. A combination of missed tackles and wrong decisions saw Malahide take an early 12-0 lead. However, Feltonfleet began to slowly get back into the game, and a great passage of play between backs and forwards which included a number of phases and swept across from one side of the pitch to the other, finally saw us score our first tour try. The game was neck and neck from then on in and we went into half-time, 19- 12 down.

At half-time we talked about their 3 main threats and how we were going to stop them. I am pleased to say that the team took onboard those tactics and applied them to the letter, for Malahide were unable to score in the second half. Unfortunately only a 60 yard individual try by James Harris was all we could muster too and so we lost our second game of the trip 19-17. Credit to Malahide, who had been taught the dark arts of slowing and killing the ball to a tee and even in defeat Feltonfleet had again showed flare and discipline in the face of some trying conditions.

After the post match awards, the boys were taken the Dublin Aquatic centre, and enjoyed the delights of the wave machine, water shoots, and surd area. Unbeknown to me, ‘man kinis’ are not allowed in Ireland (there loss) and so the coaching staff were left to reflect on a second consecutive defeat over a coffee and some curly fries. From a dietary point of view, do as I say not as I do.

Dad’s On Tour

A special mention should go to the Dad’s who travelled across and supported the boys during the first two games. At the tour presentation evening, it was clear that they were looking forward to it as much as we were!! They enjoyed all the sights sorry I mean Bars that Dublin could offer, but it was great to know that they had seen firsthand what the opposition had been like for the boys. Mr.Lonsdales leather codpiece was a hit as to was the wonderful camaraderie they had with one another. Although it was a little bit like the a Jolly Boys outing from Only Fools and Horses, it was nonetheless fantastic to have a great set of supporters.

Croke Park

On Wednesday morning minus one player who unfortunately had caught a sick bug, the tour party visited the infamous Croke Park Stadium. As stadium tours go we spent the first 40 minutes in a service tunnel under 2 of the stands. Quite Bizarre. The rest of the stadium tour was spent coming out of the match tunnel to the noise of fans, sitting in the president’s seat and an opportunity in the museum to try your hand at hurling. Mr.Rochford’s competitiveness came out and he was able to hit the hurl the hardest reaching a speed of 89mph. As Mr.Rochford ran around the museum swinging his undone shirt and skidding onto his 2 knees whilst shouting ‘who’s the man’ ‘who’s the man’ and posing like Usain Bolt , Tom Cooper saw on a notice board of comparisons, that a 12 year old and been clocked at hitting the ball at 150 mph. Never mind Mr.Rochford..maybe next time.

That afternoon we travelled from Dublin down to Kilkenny. In many respects it seemed as if the journey had taken for ever. As we travelled further south so did Mick’s accent, now a combination of slurred words entwined with laughter. As Phil ward pointed out, it was as if he was a former comedian, showing his teeth and raising his eyebrows after every comment to try and gain appreciation.

We checked into our hotel and then took the boys to a reasonably close Gaelic football pitch and played a 11 a side touch rugby with Mr.Falkus, Mr.Rochford and Mr.Ward donning their shorts to add speed and flare to the proceedings. Within 5 minutes PW had pulled a hammy, MR had thrown two interception passes and AF had broken a nail. After a prolonged period of cheating from the Year 8 team, eventually the staff team comprising of mostly year 7’s lost narrowly by a point.

That evening the tour party ate in an Italian restaurant in Kilkenny. The food was excellent and once again the boys were extremely well behaved although there was some bribery involved. On arrival to therestaurant all the boys were given colouring sheets of a pirate scene. Normally 13 yr old boys would have scoffed at the idea of ‘colouring in’. However Mr.Rochford said that whoever did the best drawing would win 5 EUROS. The next 20 minutes were bliss as Will Monet Mead and Da Vinci Draper amongst others battled for the coveted prize. The judge was Mick the bus driver, who took the role quite seriously and deliberated for a good half hour, firstly placing the entry’s into ‘maybe’s’ and ‘No’s’ and then eventually deciding on Rufus Van Gogh Eyre as the winner.

Thursday morning the tour party did a light training session before taking the boys to a cheeky fast food restaurant for lunch. Fast it was not as it took 45 minutes to order lunch for the boys. We then took in the delights of Kilkenny Castle, a dose of much needed culture. The castle and its grounds were beautiful, however, there just wasn’t a lot to see inside, nor any identifiable information, which meant both staff and children alike left somewhat confused as to what we had seen over the previous hour.

Tullow RFC

The highlight of the tour was always going to be playing under flood lights, the problem was, we just couldn’t find them.!! Mick our driver had used every trick he had to find the ground, evening asking a member of the public who was alarming dressed identical to the staff for directions. PW half felt were should kidnap this gentleman and give him the role of Tour Physio, Nutritionist and or maybe PR liaison officer (well it worked on the 2005 Lions Tour).

After an hour and 40 minutes we finally arrived in the middle of nowhere and beyond. I honestly thinks that had the game been in daylight, we would not have found the ground. As it was night-time, it was a case of three wise men (and Mick) following a floodlight rather than a star.

The boys warmed up with figure and gusto and were chomping on the bit to put in a performance worthy of their ability and the high standards that they had set themselves. From the first whistle, the boys moved the ball exceptionally well, were dynamic at the ruck areas and for the first time their decision making was spot on.

To be honest, the two teams were poles apart in terms of ability and we ran out comfortable winners 77 -7. Special mention should go to Will Mead who did not miss a conversion all game.

The Last Day

On the morning of our last day, we enjoyed another hearty breakfast and embarked on the 2hr journey back to Blighty. At the airport we were able to announce some awards for Player of the Tour (James Harris) most improved player (Ben Barclay) and of course the drawing and Go Kart champion award. (Seth Tait) The flight home was excellent and it was great to be met at the terminal by the Mum’s and Dad’s who were collecting a group of very tired boys indeed.

I have taken many tours in the past and this tour without doubt was the best I have ever been involved in. The boys were a credit to the school, their parents and to themselves both on and off the pitch. My thanks also go to my colleagues Phil Ward and Ant Falkus, who gave up their half-term to support this tour and whom were fantastic company throughout. I hope in time the boys will look back on this tour with fond memories and in many ways shapes how they as individuals develop as young men. On a personal note it has been a journey but one of which I am already reflecting upon with much pride and happiness.

The Touring Party were as follows:- Ben Draper, Bill Bathurst, Seth Tait, Ben Barclay, Will Riley, Elliot Hall, Jack Brook, Cameron Montgomerie, Rufus Eyre, George Berry, Tom Cooper, Edward Haynes, Joss Pinnington, James Stubbs, Alex Hill, Barnie O'Neil, Harry Lonsdale, Tom Hamill

Matt Rochford