Medway at the French International Festival

Having drilled in to the boys "What goes on tour stays on tour" rule, it is somewhat hypocritical to then write a tour report. So i hope you will all appreciate that this is intended to be representative of the weekend rather than completely factual.

After 9 months in the planning and fundraising the departure day arrived. After collecting 100s of bananas and packs of Jaffa Cakes kindly donated by the Southwold CO-OP, a jar of jelly babies and lemon sherbets from Squires and Norman-the-Gnome, the newly acquired team mascot, we set off on the team bus driven by Sean to the rousing sounds of "Let's get ready to rumble".

After 7 hours on the coach we finally arrived at the luxurious Campanile hotel near Lille at just before midnight. Once rooms had been sorted and kit dumped in them it was time for bed in preparation for the Aras tournament in the morning...or not as it turned out. The boys seemed intent on checking everyone else's rooms out - even though they were all identical. At just after midnight "The mad French woman" forcefully introduced herself for the first of many occasions that night and over the weekend. Actually she was probably the "The very tired French mum with young children" but this name didn't seem to stick! It would appear however she did get more sleep that night than Rob and Ben who were sharing a treble room (no bigger than a single) with a Welshman suffering with a cold.

By 8.30am most of the boys were at breakfast wearing their new tour strip (which had only arrived from Pakistan the day before we left - phew!). Latecomers were added to the fine list and were joined by others following the first "Dormir" and "Fromage" calls. Ben's little book continued to fill with names as fines were dished out for other heinous tour infringements.

We had received the fixtures and schedule a few weeks before but had made the decision not to share with the boys because the teams were all big clubs and we didn't want them to worry - like we did. First up in our group games was Drifters (unknown origin). The warm-up was a struggle and from past experience of the boys' lacklustre starts, this didn't bode well. Sure enough we were down two tries at half time. But that illusive button was somehow pressed and the second half was a very different game. We ran in 4 tries and rang rings around the Drifters. This gave the squad a great boost ahead of the next game against Middlesborough.

In terms of both club's catchment areas this was our David and Goliath match. But the self confidence gained from the second half of the first match and the fact that "they spoke funny" meant that we not only held our own, we looked like we could win. Unfortunately, they scored 3 to our 2 tries and despite sustained efforts we just couldn't get over their line at the end. Pride definitely restored.

The team then made there way to the food tent for lunch which mostly seemed to consist of Crepes and waffles covered in chocolate sauce with a few chips. Meanwhile, Norman persuaded the adults to go to the bar for a few light reflectives. I know that what goes on tour is supposed to stay on tour, but I have to divulge that me thinks Norman had too many pops.

Lunch was cut short when we were told that we were back on in 5 minutes, our opponents were RC Bulldogs, a dutch team.

Unfortunately, this match was marred by some atrocious reffing - by two refs who were on the field at the same time aka hockey matches. Despite twice as many eyes and whistles managing the game, the refs seemed absolutely incapable of spotting constant and clearly visible infringements by the dutch boys. We ran in 3 tries a piece but there is no doubt that we would have thrashed them if both refs had one good eye between them.

Then disaster struck. The first serious injury of the tour - Norman broke both his legs. Clearly our fears over his excessive drinking at lunchtime were validated - he was now completely legless!

Our final match of the first day was against Blackheath, a club whose senior team is in National League 1 (just below Premiership and about 10 leagues above Southwold). This was always going to be our toughest fixture and what made matters worse the pitch was like concrete, the waffles and chocolate were beginning to have a detrimental effect on the athleticism of the boys, the trauma of Norman's injuries had dampened the mood and we were all exhausted.

True to form, Blackheath ran in 3 tries by first half time and seemed to be just warming up. But, at half time, that illusive button got pressed again. We came out with much more focus in the second half and ran in a great try in the corner. But the defining moments of the game were James' two try-saving tackles on their enormous winger. Despite loosing the match we won the second half and left the pitch and the stadium with our heads held high.

All the eateries around the hotel were booked-up being Saturday night, so we jumped on the bus and went to a pizza restaurant in Lille. Actually "restaurant" is an exaggeration, it was more of a take-away the size of one of our club's changing rooms with plastic chairs and tables. Can you imagine the noise generated from 27 lads in this enclosed environment? Suitably carbed-up we set off back to the hotel for another encounter with "The mad French woman" who was joined by the "Getting increasingly madder night manager". Another late night for most but the good news is that the Welshman now had his own room so Rob and Ben slept like babies.

Day two of the tournament started with our last group match against Sidcup. This was probably the best match of the tournament in terms of our performance. The boys were absolutely amazing with some silky skills in the backs and physical dominance in the forwards as well as glue-like handling from everyone - and on this occasion right from the off. Our initial two tries both came from Dawson-like cheek by Willy D. Sidcup regrouped in the second half and after sustained pressure on our line, they finally broke through. Towards the end of the half we piled the pressure back on them and nearly scored the try of the tournament but for a resilient try-line tackle.

This win placed us 3rd in our group and a place in the Challenge Cup finals. We were drawn against Medway in the semi-final on one of the concrete pitches. It was also evident that we had run out of steam despite the Sidcup victory. The first half was a torrid affair with Medway dominating from the kick-off and running in 3 easy tries. The half time talk concluded that we were going to win the second half and someone evidently pressed that illusive button again. We were on the front foot most of the half with Both Billy and Stan scoring great team tries on their respective wings. This woke the dozing giant who then fought back but to no avail. The game finished 3 tries to 2 in their favour but a residing memory will be George's try-saving tackle on the Kent No.8 in the dying seconds of the game. This summed up the boy's commitment and team spirit and underlined the club's vision - The little club with a big heart.

The player of the tournament was Adrian Sanday whose swerving runs, balance and core strength carved-up defences with apparent ease.

That evening we dined out in style (in comparison to the pizzeria the night before) before adjourning to the Kangaroo Court where.....

Group Stage results:
Southwold 20 v 10 Drifters (Tries: Stan, Billy, Adrian and Willy D)
Southwold 10 v 15 Middlesborough (Tries: Adrian and ?)
Southwold 15 v 15 RC Bulldogs (Tries: Sam, Billy and Ben F)
Southwold 5 v 15 Blackheath (Try: Adrian)
Southwold 15 v 5 Sidcup (Tries: Willy D 2 and Brannan)

Challenge Cup Semi-Final:
Southwold 10 v 15 Medway (Tries: Billy 2)

(75 points for and 75 points against!)