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Trips

Rugby Tour

U14 Rugby Tour to Biarritz

I t was an early start for a group of 37 Fourth Formers on Saturday, 25th March, followed by a delayed flight to Bilbao, before eventually we were taken across the border past Biarritz and to our accommodation in Soustons. However, the travel disruption could not spoil our excitement: it was a great facility with training pitches right next to our rooms and the main canteen. We were quickly changed and out into the evening sunshine to run off the journey with some touch games; dinner and a meeting followed, before a very tired but excited group headed to bed ahead of their first fixture against local club, Soustons, the following morning. Our younger side started quickly in the fine weather, with Blake Blau proving hard to stop; MTS had a 26-7 lead at half-time. The home side came roaring back in the second half but a Lucas Godber try ultimately kept us out of reach, and we wrapped up a 33-26 win. We made a similarly quick start in the second game: Huseyin Ozer caught the kick off and ran the length of the pitch to

open the scoring. The game bounced back and forth, with MTS giving away penalties in their attempts to adjust to the new tackle height law. Eventually, the score finished 36-29 to Soustons; their ball movement and proficiency with the new rules made a big difference, despite our heroic efforts. After the games we headed to the local stadium to watch the Soustons senior side play a big derby fixture, and just like ours in the morning, it was a close match that went down to the final play. The pizzeria in town hosted us that evening for some excellent food; Mr Bruce led the first ‘fines’ session of tour, while Messrs Beck and Waterman astounded and entertained the crowd with their rapping skills! The Monday was the highlight for many of the boys, starting with Pelota/Jai-Alai in Hossegor, a small surf town near the beach. The instructor was excellent and kept the boys engaged with the different forms of the game, after which we moved on to our surfing lesson for the afternoon. A fair few managed to ride the waves and stand up

on their board, and Nathan Bridge used his prior surfing experience to good effect – everyone was very impressed! Tuesday involved an intrasquad match: the MTS teams were evenly balanced, and it went down to the last play again; the MTS White team managed to defeat the MTS Black team 43-38 in warm conditions. The squad headed to the beach in Biarritz in the afternoon, where the legend of ‘the hole’ was created. The boys were very proud of the hole they dug, as well as the numerous defensive walls erected to protect it from wave after wave. The tide ultimately won, however, and the hole was finally flooded to great disappointment; in slightly surreal scenes, the national anthem was sung in its memory. We concluded tour with some awards. Players of the Match were awarded to Ravin Abhayawickrama, Huseyin Ozer and Blake Blau; Eliel Elliot scooped the prestigious ‘Champagne Moment’ prize; and ‘Best Tourist’ went to Lasen De Silva. Mr E. J. Conway

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