On 24th February 49 Under 13 and Under 14 rugby players left school early in the morning for their end of season tour to Glasgow. After an uneventful ferry crossing the 3 squads arrived in Troon for fixtures against the local school, Marr College. The players were slightly apprehensive pre kick off, because on tour the quality of the opposition is totally unknown. The Under 13B team started slowly and soon found themselves points down to the local team. This trend continued throughout the first half, with the Rainey boys trailing 25 – 10 at halftime.
However, in the second half they staged a dramatic comeback, scoring 3 unanswered tries to win the game 27 – 25.
The Under 13A team dominated their game from start to finish. They played some excellent free flowing rugby to win the 49 – 7. The spirit of rugby was definitely on show at the end of the game, when both coaches decided to mix the 2 teams and have a fun game. The Under 14 team were forced to start their game on the back foot, with some strong running home players forcing the Rainey boys to make last ditch tackles. Nevertheless, the Rainey team slowly played themselves into the game and on the stroke of half time scored an unconverted try to lead 5 – 0. The second half was a different story, with the Rainey team displaying the type of rugby we all know they are capable of. They clicked perfectly as a team to score 8 tries and win the game 51 – 0.
With 3 wins under their belts, a happy bus load of boys headed to Breahead in Glasgow. That evening the boys spent their time in the Xscape Centre in Breahead. Here they had the opportunity to go to the cinema, bowl, play virtual golf and relax.
The following morning was spent at the Breahead Centre were they shopped. They then returned to the Xscape Centre were again they participated in a variety of activities, including believe it or not skiing!!
After an hour of football on a 3G pitch, the squad then travelled to Firhill to watch Glasgow Warriors draw 16 – 16 with The Dragons in the Magners League.
The next morning, after breakfast the squad headed back to Cairnryan and then back to Magherafelt. This was a fantastic trip, which the boys really enjoyed. They were a credit to themselves, their families and their school. On behalf of the squad I would like to thank C Simpson, N Amos, R McKernan and P Stewart for giving up their time to accompany the tour and for all their help while there.
