Tuesday 2nd - Match 1: Felsted v Bardart and Biarritz U18s - Kick Off 5.15pm

Transcription

1 Rugby Tour to Biarritz In the early hours of Monday 1st November, the touring party which consisted of: William Brown, Robert Dennis, Henry Dipper, Hugh Fillingham, James Hardy, Rhys Hartley, Rhys Howell, Henry Hebron, Jordan Sexton, Alec Young, Jack Prior, Sam Malins, Dan Withers, Hamish McLaren, Jordan Lillie, Joshua Hunter-Jordan, Charlie Kingham, Harry Kingham, Charlie Lewis, Oliver Walker, Max Prothmann, Phillip Walsh, Sam Peck, Rory Hartley, Dominic Oxnam, George Holmes and Captain Barnabas Savill and three Coaches, Mr Charlie Knightley, Mr Andrew Le Chevalier & Mr Steve Winter. WHICH TEAM WAS THIS? - and three coaches left Deacon's House for Gatwick airport. They arrived in Biarritz at lunchtime and checked into their accommodation for the next six days. Biarritz is a stunning location down in the Bay of Biscay and, with temperatures in the high teens, the thoughts soon turned to running rugby, famous on these shores. Monday 1st - Training Session After a period of acclimatisation and an early tour of the town, the players met on the beach, overlooked by the town, to give the locals their first glimpse of the 2010 touring squad. The travelling support had arrived in time to watch our boys put on a fine display of as they eagerly awaited their first encounter against Bardart and Biarritz U18's the following evening. Tuesday 2nd - Match 1: Felsted v Bardart and Biarritz U18s - Kick Off 5.15pm Having received their playing shirts the Felsted side was ready to take on Bardart and Biarritz U18's well known for their hostile and emotional performance. The adrenalin running through the squad caused the Felsted side come out of the blocks quickly. After quick incisive phases of play, we crossed the line early through the rampant Rhys Hartley (prop) and the jinxing Phillip Walsh (fly half) to lead This spurred the hosts into action and they started to pressure the Felsted line. The combination of poor execution and excellent defence prevented the hosts from scoring and in a half mainly dominated by Felsted, Rhys Hartley had crossed the line again after a forceful run. Dan Withers converted two of the three tries in the first half and the team led 19-0 at the break. The coaches were rotating the squad during the game and although the players lost some continuity to their play all were representing the school well on the pitch. As the light went and the inadequate floodlights took their limited effect it became difficult to keep the errors out of the game and the host XV played with heart, but couldn't cross the Felsted line. They will be kicking themselves after two knock ons cost them certain tries. Felsted still had more

2 ideas in attack and looked threatening with ball in hand. Phillip Walsh and Robert Dennis (wing) both scored, but the last try from our own dead ball area was a cracker. Walsh saw an opportunity to attack the blindside and once over the gain line the support play from all the players was magnificent and after most hands had touched the ball, Dennis finished with pace down the right wing. The final score of 31-0 didn't flatter the boys and although the hosts deserved a score Felsted could and should have scored more tries. The game, due to the illness of the French society referee, was handled by Mr Knightley whose Franglais often defused the odd flair up, due to being laughed at by the hot-headed offenders. Del Boy would have been proud. After a lovely reception and an invitation to play there again - great credit to the boys as the hosts had stopped playing touring sides due to games being too hostile! - the team headed back to town for a quiet meal and de-brief. Wednesday 3rd - Match 2: Felsted v Bera Bera - Kick Off 6.15pm After a leisurely morning, the squad boarded the bus at midday for Saint Sebastian to play the school s inaugural game against a Spanish team. The trip across the boarder started with lunch and a tour of the beautiful city and the coaching staff made the most of the old town and dipped into a typically Spanish lunch with the locals. The boys pushed the boat out and most ate at a little local chain of food outlets! On arrival at the stadium it was clear the pitch and surroundings were not going to be a hindrance to quick flowing rugby. Indeed the facilities at both venues to date were superb. The travelling support took their place in the stands and the squad went through the warm up for a 6.15pm kick off. The initial 20 minutes of the game were tight and the locals proved that tackling was not a problem. Felsted in creating space found the initial forays into the opposition 22 brought no reward. Felsted had plenty of the ball and eventually this started to pay off and the wingers both finished off good phase ball play. Josh Hunter-Jordan (14) was first and Jon Dennis also crossed wide out with Phillip Walsh converting the first. At 12-0 and a succession of penalties Bera Bera executed a fine driving line out to cross the line and pull back the score to a 7 point lead. Felsted then started to play their best rugby of the tour to date and the support play and pace of attack was impressive. Tries came for Rhys Hartley and Barney Savill (9) before the break. After a half time de-brief on a few areas to address and areas of the pitch to attack the players next 20 minutes was excellent. Dan Withers (13), Jordan Lillie (11) the excellent display of Sam Malins at full back (15), George Holmes (12), Sam Peck (14) and Rory Hartley (6) all scored impressive team tries and saw the side utilise the space out wide once the forwards had sucked the defence in, and the half backs controlled the time to release the backs. Bera Bera struggled to live with the handling and pace of Felsted, but did score a super breakaway try after a rare error by Felsted out wide. The final score of was reward for some excellent play and good goal kicking from Walsh and Withers. The after match

3 hospitality was again welcoming and the boys had again made friends on and off the pitch. The team then returned for a brief celebration of Phillip Walsh's birthday and more food. The spirit amongst the team was superb and a good evening was had by all.

4 Thursday 4th - Rest Day The team spent the day in Biarritz and with temperatures allowing a rest on the beach and quiet coffee outside a cafe it was a pleasant day. The staff and parents enjoyed an excellent lunch together, but only after the boys had ensured all the staff had taken a dip in the sea! Mr Andrew Le Chevalier proved a hard catch for the 27 players! Biarritz v Castres - Kick Off 7pm All the squad and parents had tickets for the game and many thanks to Tom Hardy for his generosity in this area. The game saw Biarritz be slightly fortunate to grab a score line after being outplayed in the fog. During the game the coaches secured an invite into a local match box and enjoyed the hospitality on offer. In fact an invite to the members bar after the game proved how professional the team polo's were as Mr Knightley and Mr Andrew Le Chevalier signed their way through the evening. Both felt they had their autograph down to perfection by the close. Friday 5th - Match 3: Felsted v Getox - Kick Off 7pm The team celebrated Mr Andrew Le Chevalier s 35th birthday prior to leaving for Bilbao. It was noted and minuted that the team were surprised he was so young? No-one felt brave enough to mention this at the time and the author would like it recognised that he is purely reflecting the happenings on tour and these are in no way his personal thoughts! Bilbao was another first for a Felsted touring side, but we had heard that Getox were one of the best clubs in Spain and were coached by a Kiwi. The journey down was accompanied by Matt Damon as a 5'8" Francois Piennar and a couple of hours in Bilbao did give the boys a chance to visit the certainly modern Guggenheim museum. On arrival at another stunning sports complex - a feature of the region, putting the UK to shame - the boys warmed up for what was going to be a physical battle against a powerful team. They defended the fringes well and although not always legally they turned ball over successfully. After 20 minutes the XV found themselves 5-3 down after a Walsh penalty and an opposition try after a mistake in midfield. Some of the players were showing signs of fatigue, although they struck back with a try from Sam Malins and after slick handling down the right and a Walsh penalty the team arrived at half time 13-5 up, but thankfully the opposition had missed two kickable penalties.

5 After some home truths, the XV played well in the second half and made fewer mistakes, retaining the ball to keep the pressure on the hosts. Excellent tries from William Brown (prop) and Josh Hunter-Jordan secured the win and with all players again adding value over the 70 minutes, it was a tough and excellent way to finish the tour on the pitch. The journey back was in good spirits after a very generous reception from Getox who are keen to tour the UK with this group of players. The club gave generous gifts and Felsted will be keen to host them in future years as again rugby enabled the boys and school to make new friends across the world. This continues the long and traditional philosophy of sports tours at the school. Sat 6th The opportunity to hit the surf and have a relaxing day didn't go hand in hand as the tour party put on an excellent display of swimming while carrying a board. The afternoon led to watching England v New Zealand, which had some encouraging moments. The team meal and awards took place in Bon Coin in the centre of Biarritz at a restaurant specially opened for the tour party. A celebration of the 100% record ensued and all the players received a momento of the tour with special awards going to: Player of the Tour: Phillip Walsh Most Improved Player on Tour: Sam Peck Best Tourist: Rory Hartley Best Translator: Max Prothmann