Day 4 – a showcase finish for U13s and awards for stars of the Tour

Tags

Belmont, Portugal Tour, RHS, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, royal hospital school, the royal hospital school

Another glorious day but the boys were treated to a bit of a lie in after the exertions of yesterday.

The U14s had an intense training session with Mr Hardman and Mr Chadwick while the U13s rested in anticipation of two games against fellow touring side Belmont School from North London.

Knowing this would be a tough game, the boys were ready and eager to get stuck in however, a poor start led to Belmont scoring in the first minute to take a 7-0 lead. This seemed to wake RHS up who began to gain a hold of the game with organised and resolute defence forcing Belmont into errors. A lapse in concentration allowed Belmont to score in the first minute of the second half putting RHS in difficult position but some outstanding defence saw our boys work their way up the pitch to result in a try from Toyo Ogunlesi and the score at 12-7. With one play left, RHS had to catch the kick off and return without any mistakes if they were take a result away from this enthralling encounter. And so they did, resulting in a try under the posts from Charlie Miles taking the score to 12-12! A successful kick would win the game but unfortunately it was not to be with the ball hitting the upright. In the end a fair result with Belmont having the majority of the ball.

Following this particularly physical and demanding game, a changed U13 team played the Belmont B side (with the Russian U19 side watching on!). Both teams played well but great endeavour and effort by the RHS boys resulted in a showcase finish 26-10 and a tremendous end to a great tour.

 

 

Belmont School A and B teams and RHS U13s

On our last evening there were awards for some of the stars of the tour. Tom Saunders was nominated the most valuable player and Tom Ponsonby the most improved player. Other prizes included….

TJ as Best Swimmer

 

Marco De Nysschen for the Best Tackle

Alexander Murton as Tour Fashionista

Max Orr for being the Most Demanding

Kuki for being the Best Tourist

Some very tired bodies will attempt to be at breakfast at 7am for an 8am departure to Faro airport as the tour returns home.

Day 3 the sun is shining and some physical rugby for both sides

Tags

Belenenses, Portugal, RHS Rugby, royal hospital school, rugby, the royal hospital school, Vilamoura

We were up early on Sunday for another action-packed day and the weather was glorious – much more of what you would expect here in the Algarve!

The U13s started with a stretching session before preparing for their match against another top Portuguese team, Belenenses, whilst the U14’s worked on patterns of play.

The U13s game was much more evenly matched than yesterdays. RHS took the lead to start with but disappointingly failed to hold onto it despite Marco De Nysschen and Elliot Chilvers coming to the fore. RHS went down 25-10.

An early afternoon kick-off meant that the U14’s not only had to deal with a purportedly physical Portuguese side, CDUL, but also the heat. This may have had a role to play as unfortunately, despite a fantastic game and being 10-5 up at the break, they squandered a number of chances and finished 20-10 down. Tom Saunders and Giles Wilson put in solid performances most notably in defence.

After their games the boys were treated to an ice bath, similar to that sampled by the England team after training sessions to aid their recovery.

Later the group travelled down to the marina at Vilamoura for ice cream, shopping and an ogle at the impressive yachts.

It was back to Browns for dinner and some well-needed Rand R ahead of our penultimate day here in Portugal which sees the U13s play a fellow touring side from North London, Belmont School.

Max is definitely on holiday!

Max is definitely on holiday!

Its raining on Day 2 of the Junior Rugby Tour to Portugal!

Tags

2013, Portugal, RHS, RHS Rugby, rhs sport, royal hospital school, rugby, Tour

With rain the lashing against the windows of our villas we feared the worst as we dodged puddles en route to breakfast! This was not supposed to happen…

Never-the-less the U14’s began the morning with a light session on the 3G pitch shared with the Russian U19 squad, while the U13’s enjoyed a pool session. As the rain began to subside, the sun shone on the glorious pitch here at Browns.

U13s prepare to meet GD Direito

Our opponents today were GD Direito and we were soon to learn that they are the top club side here in Portugal, being able to draw players from in and around Lisbon.

 

Warm up

The U13’s made a valiant performance but were put to the sword by a very competent team display losing out 40-0. There were good performances by Hayden Craft, Max Orr and Kuki Daunakamakama. The boys were clearly disappointed by the result but learnt very quickly what tour rugby is all about.

U13s discuss tactics

After a quick turn around, the U14’s were up next and having seen their mates struggle they were keen to make amends. And so they did. A strong start led to a well-worked try for Elliot Rayment and a close first half saw the teams go in with RHS 14-10 up. The second half saw RHS exert their dominance with some typically physical play and in the end ran out 36-10 winners.  There were some very encouraging performances from Harry Pugh, Charlie Miles and Tom Saunders.

U14s defending the line

We’ve Arrived!

Tags

Portugal, RHS, rhs sport, royal hospital school, rugby, the royal hospital school, Tour

Having endured an early start the journey was hassle free as we arrived at lunch time.

We’ve Arrived!

The boys were shown around the Browns sports complex. The facilities are of the highest quality and have seen the England, Irish and Australian rugby union squads undertake training camps here in recent years. Having settled in and eaten we took a quick taxi trip to the beach for some light training. The boys had a recovery session which consisted of some time in the sea.

We returned for some R and R before having a hearty meal. The boys then settled in to watch the Saracens Toulouse match – but many failed to see the end as they fell asleep after a long day!

Tomorrow sees the tour start in earnest with both teams playing local sides.