There were some bleary eyes as we gathered at 8 a.m. at Phoenix RFC, Institute Road on Thursday 21st February ahead of the coach journey down to Dover. Fortunately, no one forgot their passports and, once the coach was loaded and the heads checked and double checked, we managed to get away slightly ahead of schedule. There were no holdups on the way and we made it to Dover with ample time to spare. The English Channel was like a mill pond, so a smooth crossing ensued. The drive to Nijmegen was plagued by rush hour traffic around Antwerp, so we arrived at 9.30 p.m., half hour later than predicted, but still in time for an excellent dinner in the hotel. Once we’d checked in and the pre-tour briefing had taken place, it was already time for lights out and the boys dutifully turned in for the night.

Breakfast buffet the next morning was akin to watching a plague of locusts go through a field of crops as 23 sisxteen year olds demolished all on offer. By 9 a.m. the boys and coaches were loaded back on to the bus and we set of for Nijmegen RFC for a light training session. The facilities at the club are excellent and the team were able to run through a few drills and blow the cobwebs away from the long journey the previous day. Lunch was typical Dutch cuisine served back at the hotel before we took the boys ten pin bowling as a bit of R&R.

By 5 p.m. we were back on the coach and off to play our first game against Arnhem RFC under floodlights, a first for the team. The first person to greet us was the Chairman of Arnhem RFC and as the boys filed off the coach dressed in their tour tracksuits, his words were “Oh my goodness, this looks like a very professional outfit”.

K.O. was at 7 p.m. and straight from the start, Phoenix and Slough took the initiative and drove through the heart of the Arnhem defence with a number of pick and drives from the forwards resulting in a try by Ollie Moore, which Jack Holdaway converted. Arnhem were no easy team though and their very powerful pack, especially a towering number 8, made life difficult for the visiting team and if it wasn’t for an unfortunate knock on, they would have been back on level terms. A knock on right on the Arnhem try line following a good clearance kick from Dan Molloy and an excellent chase from Aiden Kelly, would have had Phoenix and Slough at least 12 points clear. Phoenix and Slough weren’t to be denied for long though as another Ollie Moore try in the corner did give them the 12 point cushion.

The Arnhem number 8 caused all sorts of problems in the first half, but against the run of play, Aiden Kelly picked up a loose ball and ran in from 60m to score under the posts. Unfortunately, the conversion was missed. The hard running from the Arnhem number 8 finally paid dividends when he scored in the corner and an excellent conversion saw the first half end Arnhem 7, Phoenix and Slough 17.

Phoenix and Slough started the second half in the same way as the first with an early try through Luke Bishop. A missed conversion took the score to 7 – 22. Arnhem were far from defeated though and a slick back’s move saw Arnhem score a converted try under the posts. 14 - 22

With 20 minutes to go, Phoenix and Slough brought on fresh legs, which was telling as Ollie Moore completed his hat trick with an unconverted try. 14 – 27. Alfie Spiller then completed the scoring for Phoenix and Slough with another unconverted try, taking the score at full-time to 14 - 32

It was a great match for the spectators as the evening mist started to roll in. The surface made for a fast and open game and both sides played some great rugby with the coaches from both teams saying that it was the best that their boys had played all season.

Following the normal presentations, fines and after match feats, we loaded back on to the coach for the journey back to the hotel having made firm friends with our Arnhem hosts.

Saturday, day three and the boys, parents and coaches enjoyed the morning off sightseeing in the picturesque town of Nijmegen. The famous bridge, the castle ruins, the excellent street markets and the wonderful cobbled streets with their boutiques, cafes and curiosity shops were amongst the attractions taken in.

Another great lunch at the hotel and we were back on the coach and off to Nijmegen again for our second match of the tour, the long awaited reverse fixture of when Nijmegen RFC visited Phoenix RFC last year. A match which resulted in a 10 – 5 win for Phoenix and Slough.

It was unseasonably warm, with temperatures hitting in excess of 20 degrees and so it was decided to play three 20 minute thirds in order to give the players some respite during the match. From last year, we knew it was always going to be a close game and given the camaraderie that had already been built up between the two teams, Phoenix and Slough wanted to give every player in the squad at least 20 minutes on the pitch against their friends. Unfortunately, this probably back-fired against us in terms of the result as at times, we had players playing out of position just to make sure they had their time on the field.

Again, the pitch was immaculate and that made for some fast running rugby. Within 10 minutes of the kick off, Nijmegen opened the scoring with a converted try after dominating the early possession. Phoenix and Slough responded well to the initial set back and were soon back in the game with an unconverted try from the elusive Kian Dent. This seemed to galvanise the Phoenix and Slough side and in the second third, they started to play like they had the night before with some outstanding defensive tackling and some very controlled driving runs from the forwards. The bulldozer that is Jermaine Bennett soon made it Nijmegen 7 Phoenix and Slough 10 with another unconverted try. Dan Molloy, who had been a power house all match, got his just desserts as he crossed over for a try to take Phoenix and Slough in to a 7 – 17 lead at the end of the second quarter.

The final third however, was the undoing of the touring side. With players out of position, an injury to Drew MacGregor, tiring legs in the heat and their second game in 15 hours, Nijmegen started to create some space. Their number 14 had the speed of a Roadrunner and in the blink of an eye had run in two tries, one of which was converted, which saw the home side 19 – 17 ahead. The final 10 minutes were nip and tuck and either side could have secured victory. Phoenix and Slough were camped in Nijmegen’s 22, but with the last play of the game, Nijmegen turned over a ruck 10m out from their own try line and broke away to score the decisive points, ending the game victorious 26 – 17.

Nijmegen were then the ultimate hosts, showing all the afternoon’s 6 Nation matches on the big screen in their clubhouse and feeding us with an endless supply of food and drink. The boys sang and danced the entire evening away, arm in arm with the Nijmegen team, until it was finally time for us to depart back to the hotel. Old friendships were renewed as well as new ones made and we really can’t wait to do it all again with them in the not too distant future.

Sunday morning and another demolished breakfast buffet. All packed, we said goodbye to our wonderful hotel hosts and boarded the coach for our last game of the tour against Betuwe, according to Arnhem and Nijmegen, the toughest of our three opponents.

Once more, we were treated to fantastic hospitality and excellent facilities. The Kiwi coach of Betuwe unnerved us slightly as he was drilling the team expertly as we arrived, but we shouldn’t have been worried as the boys responded superbly to the previous day’s defeat. Within two minutes of the kick off, we were 5 points to the good with scrum half Tyger Glewis sniping over. Jake Carey, who had grown in confidence with every match scored another try soon after. Tyger doubled his account almost immediately with another well worked move to take the score to Betuwe 0 Phoenix and Slough 15. Tyler Romney had been running excellent lines and gaining ground all tour and finally, he managed to elude a last ditch tackle and cross the white wash for his first try of the tour. Ollie Moore powered over not long after and with Jake Carey slotting the conversion, Betuwe were on the racks. Just before half time, Jermaine Bennett dotted down once more to give Phoenix and Slough an unassailable 0 -34 lead at halftime.

To their credit, Betuwe did not give up and they rallied in the second half scoring two tries, one of which was converted, but with Dan Molloy’s second try of the tour, and yet another from Jermaine Bennett in the last 5 minutes, the tourists wrapped up their final game 12 – 44.

After more excellent food, a jubilant Phoenix and Slough team headed off on the coach back to Calais and eventually the white cliffs of Dover and home.

All in all, a very successful tour. The boys behaved immaculately and were a credit to their clubs. They should be immensely proud of themselves, not just for their behaviour or the results, but because of the hard work that they put in in raising the funds to enable the tour to go ahead in the first place.

In particular, I would like to thank the following people and organisations for their help and generosity in making this such a successful venture.

Theraplate UK Limited
The Burnham Foundation
Visualization Limited
Mr A. MacGregor
Mr A. Nathan
Raging Bull Limited
Sports Travel South West
Tesco
Sainsbury’s
Gilbert
Mitsubishi Motors
Phoenix RFC
Slough RFC