The Under 10s went tour to Skegness, gave them an opportunity to showcase how far they had progressed over the season and to have some quality time together off the field. The journey North wasn't promising with the rain hammering down but as soon as we arrived things started to look more positive. The kids were keen to check out the arcade and the parents seemed equally happy to sample the delights of Club Tropicana, particularly as the first games weren't scheduled until Saturday afternoon.

Saturday

Because the Blue & Gold travelled in numbers, we were able to field two full teams, with subs, and found ourselves playing against one team each from Bourne & Old Coventrians and two from Sleaford.

The structure of the two days, however, had the two Enfield teams - Storm & Hurricane - lining up against each other in the very first match. Storm took to the pitch in the stylish camo tour tops whilst Hurricane were left to don bright orange bibs. We have seen the players face off against each other in many training sessions, but this was another level of intensity as neither team wanted to give an inch. One of the highlights was the contest between Kiaro & Joe - with neither prepared to let the other get the upper hand. Rayyan, as has become the norm, was also at his powerful best. It was pleasing to see that despite the battle on the pitch this was the only time the players weren’t enjoying time together as ‘one team’.

Storm were next up against the team from Bourne and it was great to see that how well the team had bonded with great passing and support play, leading to tries from a variety of players. Caitlin demonstrated her attacking prowess and Emily wasn’t to be outdone either. She also displayed a fearlessness and immaculate technique in defence, much to the delight of the travelling support.

In their second game, Hurricane faced off against what was proving to be a very strong Sleaford club. From the start it was obvious that both teams meant business and this was the first of four very competitive matches between the two clubs. Everyone put in a strong performance, with Freddie H and Oscar showing their ability, but it was Anthony, the human missile, who particularly caught the eye with some bone-crunching tackles.

The final game of the day had Storm facing off against the other team from Sleaford and it was great to see that they were not prepared to finish the day without leaving everything on the park. The parents of both sides shuddered at some of the collisions and Liam and the Blanchard boys, Benjamin and Oliver, really got stuck in.

After an entertaining afternoon of rugby, the parents and players made their way back to the holiday park to get into their tropical fancy dress and relive the highlights of the day with some cold refreshments.

Sunday

The day started on a massive high with George Fry finally able to take the field – having endured the most ridiculous bad luck on the journey to Skeg Vegas. The Fry’s family (including Gregory) commitment to make the tour just shows the spirit in this group – both players & parents.

Hurricane were first out of the traps on Sunday morning and took on Old Coventrians. It took a short while to shake off the aches & pains of the previous day and soon they were back in the groove with Elliott leading the charge with his dancing feet, Jonny putting in the ‘hard yards’ & Ollie showing his pace against what proved to be a tenacious opposition.

It was then back to the arm wrestle with Sleaford. Storm showed that they were keen to keep up the momentum of the previous day, George C giving his all, Freddie-Jay bubbling with enthusiasm and Sonny showing how far he has grown in his first season.
Hurricane completed the quartet of games against a quality Sleaford side and it was great to hear the roar of the crowd as Isla danced her way through the defence to dot down for the opening try. Joseph H wasn’t to be outdone in defence making sure that there was no easy way past him. As the referee blew the final whistle both sets of parents were left reflect on what had been some really tough, entertaining rugby between the two clubs.

With Coventrians unable to complete the final fixture, Bourne were brilliant and let us field one team for the first half (Storm) and the other for the second (Hurricane) to ensure that all players got as much game time as possible. It was fitting that George F got on the score sheet after all of the effort that had been made to join tour. As the game neared the end it was left to Megan to round off proceedings by adding her name to the list of scorers.

With the rugby taken care of it was back to Tropicana for the presentations, handed out by England’s own Tom Curry, and one final night of celebration. A special note of thanks to all those who made tour possible, with particular mention going to David Russell.

Teams
Storm - Benjamin, Caitlin, Emily, Freddie-Jay, George C, George F, Kiaro, Liam, Oliver, Rayyan & Sonny
Hurricane - Anthony, Elliott, Freddie, George F, Isla, Jonny, Joe, Joseph H, Megan, Ollie & Oscar