Our main man...

Here's to our coach. Happy Birthday Al!

Final day in London, then home...

After our visit to the Imperial war museum we checked into our hotel for the final two nights. The Royal National hotel is one of a group of mega-hotels very centrally located in Russell Square. People from all over Europe are checking in and out of this place at all hours of the night and day. In the main foyer you could hear could hear just about every language except English being spoken. On this occasion as with most other times we've been here, the majority of travellers coming and going are Spaniards and Italians.

March 25th: Our first full day in town and after a bit of bus tour of the major sites we gone right down to business; dropped off on Shaftesbury avenue, just a stone's throw from Picadilly circus we all made a B-Line for the single most important stop in the city - Lillywhites!!

This is a sporting goods paradise and the boys took little time is spending their last few quid on everything from soccer jerseys to new rugby boots, flags, scarves, rugby balls and whatever else they deemed a must have. Prices on things such as good rugby boots are deceptively cheap considering the location. But that is what Lilywhites is known for and it's what brings people in from all over.

After a good 5 hours of sightseeing and shopping, we brought the boys to the Soho Pizzeria on Beak Street for our final team dinner. Excellent food and excellent value. It was great to finish off our tour this way; a great bunch of boys with their overworked coaches having a well deserved meal, talking about their experiences over the last 2 weeks and a few good laughs. A fitting finale to a great touring experience.

March 26th: Flight home. A few final purchases in the Terminal Five duty frees then off to Vancouver. Cannot help but remark with great relief at our luck. We came home in between the BA strike actions. Had our return trip been schedules for the 27th, we'd likely still be there...

Thanks to all parents for your support of our tour. We look forward to the next one.

On to London

First bit of sightseeing in London, the big guns out front of the Imperial War Museum. Very cool.

Not exactly sure what all the fuss was about; lots of people were milling about this old house. Somebody named Bill used to live there??? ;->

No rugby tour would be complete without an added cultural component such as this, a Striker tradition; a stop in Stratford upon Avon for the requisite visit to Greggs. (It's an English thing, Partridge would understand...)

The last fixture

The final game on tour always seems to be the toughest; not necessarily because the opposition is so much better but because the boys have come to a point where physically they are taxed the most. The fatigue of long travel, early mornings, changes in sleep and diet patterns as well as the odd sniffle and stuffy head takes its greatest toll at this point. Yet invariably it is also the point at which the team displays the best that they have taken from this formative experience through their bonding, their positive attitudes and in the effort they put out on the playing field. Though we lost this game it was our most competitive effort. The shock-loading of high level rugby that started March 12th has now started to pay dividends for this young Striker side. Improvements have come across the board from the set pieces to completing passes under pressure to kicking, to winning the contact area through improved tackling, rucking and repetitive phases of possession. Needless to say we are very proud of this group of athletes who have started to come together as a rugby team.

A trip down memory lane

If you're old enough to remember the Beatles, well, you're old... Having said that, one is never too old to enjoy their music and learning about their history. Our second day back in England started with a Beatles tour. The trip into Liverpool involved a "ferry cross the Mersey" (Anyone know the song; Jerry and the pacemakers?)

After a brief wait and some dockside entertainment provided by Mr. H, Paddy Pascal and a few dozen crazed pigeons we met our very knowledgeable guide Jackie. From that point we were treated to a fascinating history lesson on the lives of all the Beatles and learned about the events that brought the band members together as well as the places and events that shaped their music and careers. As we went through the old streets stopping at various locations, the music played, the lyrics now came to us. Magic.

On the Wirral

After meeting our hosts at St. Anselm's College, the boys were off for a good night's sleep. The following morning, we ran a final tour training session and then we were off to the city of Chester. Chester is a lovely city characterized by its old Roman walls and "the Rows" which are shopping galleries and boutiques lining either side of the streets. The stores operate out of storybook tudor style buildings which make for a great postcard.

On to England for the final fixture

The trip back into England brought us back through North Wales. Our first stop from the ferry was this rather lonely train station rendered famous by its excessively long name (58 letters) Uhmm... What were the Welsh thinking?
Anyway the phonetics, if you can read them, are above. The translation:
"The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave"

Fascinating...