U10s Bournemouth Tour

Sat 14th April

The U-10s commenced their tour of Bournemouth at the beautiful ground of Oakmeadians. Surrounded by woodland and boasting an ornate, unique 3-story clubhouse, the beauty of the ground was matched by the beauty of the rugby displayed by Scouts as they rampaged through the opposition to win the opening match 7-0. Scorers were Sam E.(2), Lucas, Jacob T., George, Rhys & & Finton.

The teams then merged to play some “friendly matches”.

The 2nd match proper resulted in much the same story with Scouts winning 5-2 with tries by Rhys(2), Sam E. & Lucas (2) with much of the good work being set up by the forwards enabling the backs to run amok. However, the combination of the ongoing thunderstorm together with the effects of the previous evening (!?) resulted in Scouts only fielding 8 players for the 2nd half giving the
others (and the band of travelling supporters) an opportunity to shelter and watch the game from the balcony of the pavilion.

An excellent start to the tour and hopefully new friends made.

Sun 15th April

Sunday's matches consisted of the tournament at Bournemouth Rugby Club right next to Hurn Airport. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond his control (i.e. the time taken to consume his cooked breakfast at the hotel) your correspondent missed the opening game vs Pembroke, which
was lost 4-2 with tries coming from Rhys & George. By all accounts the first half was probably best forgotten with the lads showing more strongly in the second half.

2nd Match vs Bournemouth. Lost 5-1
Scouts fielded a totally different team for the second match and were overpowered in the first half by a strong home side and went into half-time trailing 4-0. However, again a much improved second half display saw Jacob M. scoring a totally deserved try and the match ending 5-1.

3rd Match vs Ruislip Lost 1-0
This was by far the best performance of the day. Neither side were able to dominate in a tight and fiercely fought first half. Both sets of forwards gave their all and cancelled each other out with the teams being level at half time.
The only score came deep into the second half when Ruislip eventually broke the deadlock and with Scouts unable to force an equalising score despite giving everything they had, this turned out to be the only score in a very even game.

All the lads gave their all and everyone appears to be enjoying the touring experience and getting on well together.