Alnwick U12s reached an important landmark in their rugby careers last weekend, by embarking on their first tour. A very jolly bus load of tourists left Alnwick on Friday evening, kitted in new tour tops, generously provided by Morris & Plumley, The Alnwick Vets. A two minute journey later and we made our first essential stop at McDonald’s, who had kindly also sponsored the team’s tour. Many thanks to both sponsors, their contributions were very much appreciated. A quick tea stop and we were off to Thirsk, which was to be our base for the weekend.
Our first tour date was on Saturday morning against Ripon RFC. After a good night’s sleep, with absolutely no talking after lights out, the team were in good spirits. Ripon immediately took command of the game, quickly scoring a couple of tries. Through some good team play and determination Alnwick fought back to score, proving they were not to be a walk over. The game went in Ripon’s favour in the end, but there was some great rugby from both teams and a commendable effort from Alnwick.
Saturday afternoon, we all stepped very much out of our comfort zones by taking part in a high ropes activity, a fantastic team building opportunity for the boys and senior tourists alike. Many thanks must go to NFU Mutual for providing sponsorship towards this. Another big thank you should go to Homes Rock Ltd who also sponsored the tour.
Sunday morning found the boys facing Harrogate RFC for their final tour fixture. After rumours abound of the high class of rugby we were to encounter, a slightly daunted team took their positions. However, true to form Alnwick raised their game and soon lost any pre-match trepidation, defending well, with all players contributing to create plenty of pressure on their opposition. The game was a grand finale to the tour, that Alnwick ought to be proud of. Harrogate did come out on top, but a great learning experience was had by all, with a proper old school referee coaching the boys through every twist and turn of the game. Harrogate provided some fun and games afterwards, involving marshmallows, syrup, flour and much hilarity, but I’d better not go in to that, after all what goes on tour stays on tour!