| Under 16's Tour |
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Newquay 2010
It is safe to say that this tour was not without incident! The tour theme was ‘Super Heros’ so 20 players, the coaching team of Mark ‘Lefty’ Wright, Kevin Spencer and Paul ‘Gerbil’ Haynes, and 9 parents set off suitably costumed. Stopping at Taunton Services on the M5, other travellers squinted in the sunshine at the assortment of characters tipping off the team coach. There was Batman, Buzz Lightyear, Scooby Doo, The Lone Ranger, Batwoman, Superman, Austin Powers and Ghostbusters to name just a few. Flanker Henry Ivall’s Dad, resplendent as Indiana Jones with whip, pistol and satchel had toured before, and should have known better than sit next to Timmy Daniels, the Lockleaze Drink Monster. The two of them polished off a litre of Vodka on the coach down. By the time we arrived in Newquay Steve really was on another planet, and was last spotted doing an impression of John Wayne with an arrow in his back, staggering into town to buy more Vodka. People were starting to get concerned when he had not returned after a couple of hours. At one point a police car sped past the hotel, siren blaring and blue light flashing, ‘they’ve found Steve’ joked a few, little did they know… The party were then shocked to hear that Steve had indeed been arrested and was being held in custody at Newquay Police Station. He was banged up overnight, only the next morning did we get the full lowdown. Apparently the police were responding to reports of an armed man on the loose (Steve’s Indiana Jones toy pistol) and a full Armed Response Unit had been summoned to take down the lone gunman. Steve cheerfully reported that he had heroically resisted arrest, complaining of a sore jaw where his face had been kneeled on as he was spreadeagled and cuffed on the pavement, in front of 100’s of gawping passers by. He was then carted off by 10 gun toting coppers in full body armour. He did speak highly of his overnight accommodation in the nick, comfortable, ensuite, good night’s sleep. So, the lengths some people will go to get a room of their own on tour! Next up was our game against Newquay Hornets, finalists in the Cornwall U 16 cup, and sure to be a test for our sleepy eyed squad. Sure enough, it was an exciting, close game, Newquay hanging on to win 48-46, having boosted their team, rather unfairly, with several U 17’s who proved the difference. Sadly, fullback George Hooper, playing a blinder in attack and defence was heavily tackled and suffered a double fracture of his forearm. Seeing their teammate hospitalised, the Dings lads really turned up the aggression and commitment, battering Newquay with 3 tries in the last 6 minutes, and would surely have won had the ref not blown for full time. After the post match hospitality, excellent food, drinks and beers it was back to the hotel and a walk down to the beach. It was a lovely sunny afternoon, so it was on with the swimming shorts and the lads were soon messing about in the sea. Then it was back to the hotel for the ritual Kangaroo Court, where various misdemeanours were punished. Forfeits were usually downing some gut churning concoction, for some reason the cat food was very unpopular. An evening meal, beers and a curry took care of the rest of the day. Our hotel, The Sutherland, had one more trick in store that night. A website review said ‘this hotel is suitable for Stag and Hen weekends, but only as a last resort’. True to form, at 4am a burst water tank in the roof caused the ceiling in room 8 to collapse under a torrent of water. The tourist occupants had minutes earlier been awoken by drips from the ceiling onto their pillows, which must have been an act of God, as they vacated the room with literally seconds to spare. Out original Sunday opponents, Wadebridge Camels, had cried off, so a game was hastily arranged with Redruth, at their Recreation Ground, the home of Cornish Rugby. Dings started well, opening the scoring with a pushover try in Redruth’s famous ‘Hellfire Corner’. Dings won the forward battle, however the Redruth backs did the damage, with the home side winning 27-5. Once again, an exciting game played in good spirit. The Redruth officials all spoke very highly of Dings Crusaders and wished the club luck for next season.
And so that was it, a tour with plenty of content, some good, some not so good, but certainly a tour that will never be forgotten! |
