Junior Boys' Tour News
March 27 - Lampeter proved to be a favourite spot with many friends being made. A few lads had the experience of watching lambs being born and one or two had to get up early to milk the cows. Both games were keenly contested in dreadful conditions. The U16s, playing under lights, led throughout the game but gave away a soft try in the last minute to lose narrowly. The U15s fared well in the mud, but the experience of the home team proved to be too much for our lads.
Onwards to our final stop Wimbledon in London. This morning our boys played very well (without rain) the U15 losing 57-50 and our U16s winning 12-0. Following the games, we headed into London to the natural history and science museum. It was good seeing some parents at the game and alum, Tommy Nasumo, had travelled up from Exeter.
Tomorrow we are off to see London Irish vs Sale Sharks at Reading.
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The Junior Boys’ tour going very well even though the weather has not been kind. The light drizzle is a common daily occurrence, but it has not dampened the boys' spirits.
Glantaf, in Cardiff, were wonderful hosts, however, they were too strong on the rugby field for our jet-lagged boys. All our teams lost their first games, but our U14s put up a solid performance losing 25-20 in a close battle. The test match was an experience for all to treasure with much singing before the game and Wales finishing their season respectfully. The boys visited the Millennium stadium, Cardiff castle and did some shopping.
Onwards to the Big Pit on the Monday where the boys actually went down a disused coal mine. They experienced a taste of how life was in the industrial valleys in Wales in the 1930s. They arrived to a royal welcome at Tonyrefail where many of the boys were hosted in miners’ houses. We faired much better on the field, with our U15s winning by two points. The other games were close encounters and were played in dreadful conditions.
Having made many new friends, we said farewell to our excellent hosts in the Rhondda valley we moved on to visit the spectacular Carreg Cennen castle. The dungeons were popular! We had lunch in the picturesque market town of Llandeilo and moved on to our third set of hosts, Lampeter, in the heart of farm country of mid Wales.
– Rhod Samuel, Coach