After two years of not being able to tour, this was arguably the best youth section tour ever: the weather was kind , the rugby was plentiful: spread across two days and across two clubs (Oakmedians and Lytchett Minster - who were great hosts and our thanks to you both); and the entertainment was spot on.

The Under 7s this year were lucky enough to secure some late notice cancellations from other teams within the club to secure six places for the Easter tour. Although a small squad, we were able to put out a team with substitutes to play a series of games over the two days.
Prior to leaving for Bournemouth on the Friday, we managed to cause an upset in the money markets with parents' panic buying skins, gloves, hats and basically anything that would keep their little treasures warm. Thankfully, the weather was very kind to us all and although a little chilly in the early mornings, we had two days of lovely sunshine which made for perfect rugby conditions. All the skills and training over the year paid off dividends as the team battled against a number of clubs from across the southern region of England. Ethan was strong in possession with the ball and made great progress on the wing with his speed and passing of the ball. This was accompanied with strong support from both Yan and Flynn who were always their looking for the off load and both made great yards in pushing the opposition back during the matches. James continued to demonstrate his speed and “snake hips” in avoiding the opposition and created a good passage of play with Emma who again demonstrated speed and accuracy when in possession of the ball. Fred continued to implement skills learnt from training and imposed a tremendous amount of continued pressure on the opposition by not letting them pass in the attack and this was awarded with Fred securing the “Player of the Tour” award for the under 7s. The competition for the team was challenging but the coaches Matt Platt, Jo Eardley and Tony Elliott could not be more proud of how the players played as a team and looked out for each other on the field. Of course, it wouldn’t be Tour without Coach Martin holding a Court Session on the Sunday where punishments were handed out to individuals who may have strayed off the path over the two days. Disappointing to report that coach Matt was identified as one of the culprits who was brought forward to Judge Martin but it would be inappropriate to go into detail as, “what goes on tour, stays on tour”. On behalf of all the coaches, well done to team and hopefully next year we will be able to field a bigger squad as we move up to the Under 8s.

The Under 8s demonstrated that they were a small but perfectly formed squad who welcomed the return of Joey, who had been previously been distracted by the lure of the round shaped ball. One of the great features about touring is playing against sides we would never normally meet: Teddington, Reeds, Poole, Grasshoppers. Then playing nine matches over the two days certainly tested the energy and concentration levels, but every player rose to occasion, and in particular they maintained high levels of support play which enabled every member of the team to secure some great tries. Max never likes losing and when his side were under pressure he upped his game and continued to take even more tags to ensure the opposition would not score. Over the weekend Phoebe came into her own: and with more confidence came more direct running and some fantastic tries. Noah was predatory in his tagging, whipping out his arm and snagging a tag when the opposition thought they were clean away. Brodie maintained his elusive style of running that always kept the opposition guessing. Martina was calm, collected and determined whether in attack or defence. Joey's return to the fold was marked by his excellent support play and determination to take many tags or score as many tries as possible. Rian was voted "Player of the Tour" by his fellow players and their parents: well justified by his ability to find space where little existed and move through gaps which he made himself. It was fantastic for both the parents and coach Martin, who have watched the young players progress over the last two years see it all come to fruition. Our tours are amazing family opportunities as well, and for the players and indeed most of the parents it was the first chance for them to experience other aspects of the great touring traditions: fancy dress and "court". It was fantastic to see all the parents enjoy these occasions, but for those who made the ill judged decision to miss the court session....there is next year!

The Under 9s tasted their first experience of festival rugby on the tour to Poole. Fifteen children made the journey and were split into two teams – Enfield Thunder and Enfield Lightning. On Saturday we met in the sunshine at Oakmedians for a 10 o’clock start. Lightning with the first to take the field and got off to a flying start, showcasing all the skills they’ve learnt over the season. Thunder weren’t far behind and proved to be equally adept on the pitch. Both teams had a total of four matches of varying degrees of competitiveness but all went back to the Holiday Park happy, if not a little tired and bruised. Sunday was some more of the same, although it was clear to see that the kids, and some of the parents, were feeling the effects of a hard Saturday on and off the pitch. We travelled to Lytchett Minster for four more matches for each team, once again against challenging opposition. All players in Thunder and Lightning teams acquitted themselves well and the coaches and parents should feel not only proud of how they played but also how they conducted themselves within the Spirit of Rugby.
All in all it was a very successful weekend. The teams were: Lightning:Benjamin, George, Kiaro, Liam, Noah, Oliver, Rayyan. Thunder: Anthony, Elliott, Freddie, Isla, Jonny, Joseph, Megan, Ollie.

The Under 10s participated in two amazing festivals over the first weekend of the half term weekend in Easter. Our age group legends fielded two teams on the Saturday and Sunday. Both teams played some exceptional rugby and more importantly played every game in the spirit of the game; disciplined, respectful and fair. This under 10s are a wonderful group of players and parents; touring together gave us an unbelievable opportunity to bond.

The Under 11s after two frustrating years finally got to do what they love more than anything else...tour! The players thrive on the additional thrill of festival style rugby, and the parents thrive on getting to go out for a drink every evening! With 21 players signed up to tour, the squad was split into two, the Enfield Spartans, and the Enfield Trojans. Saturday saw the U11s venture to Oakmedians RFC and play games against Teddington, Grasshoppers, and Oakmedians, winning all eight of their games and more importantly, playing some of the best rugby we have ever seen them play! The hard work throughout the season really shone through, with players reacting to every situation they found themselves in. It was one of those days where there were so many highlights, that it is impossible to include them all. However some of the stand out moments were:
- Matthew running in a try from 40 metres, throwing three audacious dummies along the way
- Caiden chipping the ball over the top, running through, catching it on the bounce, and racing through to score
- the Trojans scoring a try that involved every member of the team, before Callum raced away into the corner for the score.
After a try packed morning the 11s headed over to a local indoor Waterpark for some fun on the water slides, before heading back to the park for the ritual Saturday night fancy dress. There were some fantastic costumes, but the hands down winners were the Harnett family with their Only Fools and Horses costumes! After a well deserved Sunday lay in, the U11s headed the short distance over to the local Lytchett Minster RFC for the afternoon festival. This time their opposition was Chipstead, Grasshoppers, Teddington, Cheshunt, Lytchett Minster, Northampton and Minchinhampton. Again the sides were on fine form, winning six of their eight games, including Archie scoring the winning try in the last play of the last game to deny Minchinhampton!
Squads: Trojans: Joshua R, Romeo, Joshua E, Jake, Ollie H, Oliver C, Callum, Rosie, Leo, William
Spartans: Caiden, Matthew, Archie, River, Harry, Josh, Jack G, Jack J, James, Max, Adam

The Under 12s had a triumphant tour to Bournemouth, being unbeaten over the weekend despite playing teams which contained some much larger boys. Playing in two festivals the U12’s won six of their seven matches and drawing the other. Saturday saw the team travel to Oakmeadians RFC where the boys played in a lovely setting, they played both Oakmeadians RFC and Grasshoppers RFC twice each; winning all four matches. On Sunday the boys played at Lytchett Minster RFC where they played Grasshoppers again, Cheshunt RFC and Froome RFC and won two, drawing a third. Whilst the whole group played superbly well, special praise must go to Donal, Cameron and Ollie G, who picked up Tour Awards and to Matteo for being wonderful over the whole weekend, helping his younger sister’s coach take the warm up for their age group and deservedly picking up the "Star of Tour" award. Lots of fun was had over the weekend and we are pleased to have such a wonderful group of parents and players.
Editor's Note: The is is a traditional saying in rugby circles that, "What goes on tour, stays on tour". Well for several of the parents that is certainly the case, as since their return they have developed Covid symptoms. We wish them well and a speedy recovery.

The Under 13 s enjoyed a great weekend of rugby and team building. Day 1 of the first festival they played 80 mins of intense quality rugby. There were 5-0 wins against Gravesend and a 3-0 win against Stroud, but a 4-2 defeat against Grasshoppers meant they finished second in the pool to their Middlesex counterparts due to having less bonus points. This meant the final game was in the plate final against host club Lytchett Minister. This proved a game too far as the bare bones of the squad got pipped 2-1, despite a spirited effort from the team.
Day 2 saw the boys patched up and ready to go again. The day started with a re match Vs Grasshoppers which ended in a good 3-0 win, making a mends for the result of the previous day. In the final pool game we lost 4-3 to Camberley who arguably had the best individual we came up against all week end. His head to head with our Mali was a great battle and the embrace they had at the end of the game spoke volumes and what our sport is about. The final game against Gravesend was in a similar vein to the Saturday when we had to play the last eight minutes with twelve players, including forwards on the wings. A great effort meant that after being 1-0 down for long periods of that game we still managed to get back to 1-1 before losing to a try with almost the last play of the game. A big mention must go to Tom D who played on despite later discovering he had a broken wrist….. (on his birthday as well!)
All in all we had seven games of really hard rugby we did ourselves proud. The convincing wins in our first two games of the whole tour against Gravesend and Stroud on day 1 being the highlights. More importantly the boys all got on and bonded well and some friendships were made with our neighbours Cheshunt (who we didn’t play) and Grasshoppers who we had two good games against which were played in the right spirit. The weekend finished on Sunday night in the bar with plans being started for next years tour....