2010 MTBS Rugby Tour: July 2010

Saturday, 31 July 2010

Do you recognise this bag??

One boy was in such a hurry to get away from the staff and the hotel for the evening that they left all of their luggage outside the hotel.

Name the owner and the winner will receive an evening with Mr Schober, Second prize is two evenings .............

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Twins

It's not easy being Green!

Walmsley meets his host. Coincidently, both wearing possibly the only green hoodies ever sold.

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MC Cher-Noble

Noble- Blog

Boredom was averted on the trip from Chile with the rapping delights of MC CherNoble. What a racket!! But highly entertaining for all concerned.

A star in the making!!!

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Location:Transit to Uruguay

We finally arrive in Montevideo

We have arrived safe and well eventually!! Pilots license and fog have caused several delays but we have eventually arrived.

Regrettably, the fixtures against the Uruguayan national sides have been cancelled due to the delays. However, we have been entered into a friendly competition later against some of the top club sides in Uruguay. Out of the fire............

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Location:Uruguay

Friday, 30 July 2010

Hooded Gringo's

You can take the lads out of Liverpool but you can't take the Liverpool out of the lads!!

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Location:Chile

Stranded

I know what you are thinking...... And no it was not Ian's fault at all. Unfortunately our flight was cancelled to Montevideo and we have been put up by the airline in a good hotel with the flights booked for tomorrow hopefully.

A huge cheer went up in the airport when the boys found out that would be able to rest up in a hotel and have a break from
being hosted!! Boys delighted and will hopefully be able to catch up on several days of sleep deprivation and generally relax following two tough games.

Tour-wise this means we have a day less in Uruguay but we will be able to see all we had planned to but in two days rather than three.

Hopefully, we will make the trip tomorrow.

The image below illustrates why this setback is not all bad!!

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Paintball

Not ideal prep for a big game but the boys all returned covered in bruises but with big smiles.

Backs v forwards was always going to be competitive. Unfortunately for Z Khan he was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time by the U16's backs!! Ouch.

Shot of the day went to Thorpy who caught our CCF veteran IDM straight in the mouthguard area. Ian was unimpressed with a mouthful of blue paint. Revenge will be sweet I am sure Jack.

Pics to follow.

Thursday, 29 July 2010

How to confuse an MTS rugby player

Place 8 tackle shields and ask the boys to hit them at different times and work in pairs. This motley crew would still be there now trying to work it out had we not had a game to play. As you can see from the image below, complete chaos ensued. Please note that only 2/8 are hit at any one time!!

Hall of Shame

Walmsley
Fetherstone
Smith
Foster
Kimmance
Duncalf

You can see the frustration on mike and Ian's faces. Luckily all saw the funny side.

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Location:Training

Today's itinerary

We collect the boys first thing then fly to Uruguay. The boys will spend the next two nights with their Uruguayan hosts.

Location:Montevideo

U18's Craighouse 52 v 21 MTS

Another very tough game for the lads but full credit must go to our hosts. They are a very big and physical but play an expansive game with some tremendous back play. On our return home, I doubt we will play a team of this quality in our regular fixtures.

The backline we faced was superb with big quick boys who handled with precision. The star of the show for Craighouse was there 16 year old (90kg) winger who has recently been signed by the Canterbury Crusaders in New Zealand following a five week trial. He scored four tries and I am sure that Oakesy and Graham C will not forget the day they played against him in a hurry. However, Craighouse were more than just a one man team and played very well from one to fifteen.

Despite long periods without the ball, it was MTS that opened the score with an excellent solo try from Matt VS. We also scored tried through DEvans and Max W. A tough lesson but one we will learn from.

Man of the match - Dryden

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U16's Craighouse 71 v 0 MTS

Craighouse are the strongest side in Chile and certainly let our boys know it. It was always going to be a hard tour for our boys playing against under 16 teams coming to the end of their seasons. This meant that the opposition were much older and have the huge advantage of well practiced set pieces. In truth, our lads are very new to lifting in the line-out and scrummaging at this level. This has made life difficult for both our forwards to compete and back line to attack. There were several pleasing aspects, with some good attacking play and were unlucky not to score with some great breaks by Oliver and Ethan. Our defensive effort was also excellent at times with George Kimmance and Jonathan LP impressing once again.

Man of the match- J Curtin

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Recommended Diet

IDM is leading by example. His evening meal is seen below.

Worryingly, the steaks are far larger in Argentina.

The staff were fortunate to bump into young Noble in the restaurant with his host family. When asked how his steak was? he replied, 'I had Chicken....... And the whole family laughed at me!!' The fact that we are touring the home of steak appears wasted on the young scrum-half, who would certainly benefit from a good steak or two.

Large cake not advisable for all.

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Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Today's itinerary

We meet the boys at 8a.m Chilean time for a light training session.

We then head for some 'team building' Paintballing activity. Luckily IDM has brought his CCF equipment and is more excited than boys. Mr Hunt has respectfully declined the offer to play 'Hunt the Bear' against 39 lads armed with paint guns and good memories. ;-)

We then play Craighouse at 21:00GMT (Match Report to follow)

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Boys meet new hosts

Would all parents please note that MTS Rugby would like all of our lads to be fed Steak at least five times a week. The opposition appear to be getting bigger and bigger here :-)

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Training at Craighouse

Training for tomorrows game against Craighouse School.

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Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Today's itinerary

The lads will be leaving the Grange and meeting up with their new hosts from Craighouse.

In-between time we will be visiting the local theme park for a few hours before training commences at Craighouse School.

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Location:Craighouse

A big thank you to the Grange School

A huge thank you to the hosts of the Grange. Wonderful hosts and great blokes (including pupils and staff)

All of the boys, (with the exception of Thorpy, who was most upset he and his host missed breakfast this morning) appeared to be really enjoying their stay.

I think some may be getting a little too comfortable with having live in Maids at their current homes.

I doubt George will ever forget his stay with his billet. They have both really bonded despite poor Jensen's initial anxiety due to the scary looking nature of his host at first glance. The camaraderie between both sets of lads appears to be excellent, I do hope the hospitality does not extend to a glass of Pisco this evening fellas.

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U18's - Grange 12 v 7 MTS

A closely fought encounter which could have gone either way. Both sides played a physical and expansive game of rugby throughout. Our try came from skipper Big Bob Metcalf who finished off an excellent run by the Van. A solid team effort with plenty of positives and things to work on in the forthcoming weeks.

Man of the Match - Macca Van

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U16's - Grange 41 v 7 MTS

A tough start to the tour for our lads. They played against a far bigger and older side who have had a very successful season. Despite playing against a far larger side the U16's never gave up and played some good rugby in patches. Our try came from a quick tap by Young Freeman, with notable performances from Bell, JLP and Gilchrist.

Man of the match was Jamie Ablett who made some excellent breaks on the wing, and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet.

A tough opening game but played in superb spirit throughout.

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Sick Note

The walking wounded appear to be delighted with their roles on tour.

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Itinerary for the day

Meet boys at 13:00 GMT

Some city sight seeing (And no doubt a catch up of the previous evenings events for the boys)

Mall stop for some shopping

Game v Grange School
U18 kick off 21:15 GMT
U16 kick off 20:00 GMT

Evening entertainment at school then at hosts.

(Match Reports to follow)

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The lads discover their new homes for the next two nights

Bellers meets his new Chilean housemate. Young Bell looks a little apprehensive, perhaps for good reason!!! :-)

The boys are greeted by their hosts!

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Location:Grange

Monday, 26 July 2010

Prep for first fixture tomorrow

The Girly backs @The Grange

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Tour of Santiago

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Itinerary for the day

Tour of Santiago and surrounding areas.

Training at the Grange School.

Boys to spend first night at their hosts houses.

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Location:Santiago, Chile.

First training session

Lads immediately get put through their paces on the training field last evening.

I'm sure you would all agree that it is not a bad setting for some rugby.

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Location:Old Grangeonians, Santiago.

Sunday, 25 July 2010

Free the Merchants One

Ian Mckie nearly didn't make it to the hotel as he was detained at the airport for trying to bring into Chile a banned substance!! However he did manage to escape the Chilean government fine of $500 following an Hour of interrogation by the authorities.

He failed to declare that he had a banana in his hand luggage!!! Unfortunately Ian was not reunited with his Banana following the ordeal (an ordeal of great amusement for the lads)!!

'Crumbs Fellas!!'