Many thanks to Ricky and Jamie for putting this overview.
After a year of planning and anticipation, Bangor Rugby Club’s tour to Italy finally got underway on Tuesday 30th July with a late rendezvous at the club before travelling by coach to Dublin Airport for an early flight to Milan – not much sleep, but spirits were high (this became the norm for much of the trip). The players were met by their tour guides Ernesto and Roberta who briefed them on the immediate plans before setting off on some sightseeing and liquid refreshment. Ernesto and Roberta were awesome – they would have done anything for anyone in the group, and made the tour the success it was.
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The following day was also casual, and included a tour of the San Siro stadium followed by a trip to Idroscalo Park in Milan for some rest and recreation before returning to the hotel for dinner and a quiet night. Of course, rugby tours are anything but quiet.
The next morning the players nursed their hangovers with a 3 hour coach trip to Bardi, where they would play their first match that evening. En route, they stopped at a famous winery and had a tour of how they make their wine. As a result, Bangor Rugby Club now have a new vintage in the pipeline – as arranged by club president Ashley Armstrong and tour organiser Tony Heffernan with the vineyard owner. Having finally made it to the hotel, the players got ready for their first game with a team meeting before a short walk in the 33 degree heat to the rugby ground. The game against Bardi Rugby was won convincingly by 62-17. After the game everyone walked to the festival de rugby that was happening in the town for an unbelievable night of craic and hospitality.
The next morning, with little sleep but spirits high (heard this before?), the tour now headed towards Rome – an 8 hour coach drive which in a sense provided some respite from the rigours of the night before. Arriving at their hotel in the late afternoon, the remainder of the day was left for relaxation and recovery before another great evening of camaraderie and fun.
Day 5 was the second match day, so a lie-in and casual morning was in order. It seemed strange for so many men wanting to visit a large shopping centre, but with temperatures hitting 40 degrees in Rome, anywhere they could find air conditioning was welcome. That evening, the players travelled to the Rome suburb of Ceprano, where they were to play the local side, Celtic Irish! Once again, the players performed well in stifling heat, recording a convincing 87-0 victory. The Celtic Irish team and supporters were excellent hosts, having widely publicised the game beforehand and presented Bangor with an impressive trophy. There was even a specially made cake to mark the occasion. Returning to the hotel around 2:30am, the sensible option would have been to get some rest, but apparently sense was ignored and madness prevailed.
Another lie-in was in order the next day, followed with a tour of Rome, including the Colosseum, Pantheon, Roman Forum, and other touristy bits which was really enjoyed by everybody. With lessons learned from previous nights, sense at last prevailed, and an early night was had by all. This was just as well, given what the players were to discover the next day.
The last full day of the tour got underway with an early start (6:00am) and long coach journey to Treviso, finally arriving around 5:00pm after a few stops along the way (including 2 hours in another air conditioned shopping centre). After a short rest at the hotel, it was into their number ones and onto the bus for Treviso stadium.
As the players arrived at the Stadio di Monigo, club captain Jamie Clegg explained what was now ahead of them. “We didn’t really know what to expect. We arrived at the ground thinking we would be facing their second string or Academy side but we soon realised it was their first team minus a few Internationals!” quipped Clegg.
“I think there must have been a communication breakdown somewhere along the way! It was really hot and humid so we were sweating before we even got onto the pitch.”
Having played two games in the past three days, and with some equally demanding après-rugby in between, the players were not only nervous about what lay ahead, but also excited at the prospect of this unique opportunity to play against such a famous side.
“We kicked off and they caught the ball and ran it back at us. We made the tackle and their player was penalised for not releasing the ball. We kicked the penalty and went three points up. They must have thought ‘Bangor are here to play’!”
He continued: “We won some scrums and some lineout ball but they were so physical, it was almost impossible to get over the game line.”
The Bangor number 8 ‘enjoyed’ a personal battle with Italian international back rower Manoa Vosawai. “Every time I got the ball he smashed me and every time he got the ball I had to tackle him. He gave me a black eye into the bargain.”
Jamie is extremely proud of how his team – a mixture of 1st, 2nd and 3rd XV players – performed against their more illustrious opponents, despite finally losing by 92-3.
“They were phenomenal. The Treviso coach spoke to the group afterwards and said he was impressed with the commitment shown by our guys. He said they base their game on pride, passion and a never-say-die attitude and he could see that in our game.”
They all did Bangor Rugby Club proud, rounding off proceedings with a rousing rendition of the club song – something the large home crowd (around 2,200 by their estimate) really appreciated and enjoyed. Once again the hospitality shown to the players by their Italian hosts was second to none, and was finally capped off with a visit to the local beer festival.
The last day of the tour showed no let-up in early starts, with another 6:00am coach trip back to Milan. The flight home was surprisingly OK for a group of 27 who probably had about 30 hours of sleep between them after playing a professional outfit the night before. As has been said before, there may have been little sleep but spirits were most definitely high. The club can be justly proud of their players, and will no doubt be hoping that the experiences gained over the past week – both in terms of player bonding and on-field performance – will continue throughout the forthcoming domestic competitions which start in a matter of weeks.
The touring party comprised: Ashley Armstrong (club president), Tony Heffernan (chief organiser), Ricky Armstrong (tour captain), Jamie Clegg (1st XV captain), Alan Atcheson, Mattie Baillie, Mark Barr, Freddie Black, Davy Charles, Andrew Clegg, Charles Clegg, Craig Cooper, Richard Corbett, Peter Crawley, Adam Fitzpatrick, Jamie Foulkes, Jake Harrison, Nick Hatton, Glen Irwin, Andrew Jackson, Lee Johnston, Ryan Law, Ian McBurney, Adam McCauley, Mark Vance, Paul Wilsdon, Ben Worthington.
