On the 30th June, a group of 35 players and 4 staff left Royal School, Armagh destined for Regina in Canada, to everybody’s delight there was no issues with our transport and we arrived at 10pm at the University of Regina. The next day saw a light training session at Regina RFC in 26 oc heat, which was a shock to some of the fairer skinned members of the squad. That afternoon we took in the local celebrations for Canada Day.
Monday 2nd July saw the first 2 fixtures of the tour; the 1stXV played a representative team, The Prairie Wolf Pack U19 XV, whilst the 2nd XV played a Regina All Stars U17 XV. The 1stXV fronted up against a more physical side with Captain, Matthew Clarke and James Johnston causing a number of key turn over’s at the break down. Ulster U19 squad member Ali Wright controlled the game from outhalf and his haul of 20 points helped the 1stXV to a 40-19 victory. The 2nd XV displayed ruthlessness and accuracy in attack to win 70-0, Michael Rolston grabbed 2 tries in a man of the match performance in the back row.
The next day we departed for the University of Saskatoon, where the boys took part in a recovery session at a local pool, some more senior members of the squad choosing the jaccuzi over the slightly daunting diving boards. The evening’s entertainment saw a court session take place under the watchful eye of Judge James Murray. A light training session the next morning was followed by an afternoon of paintballing with John Dunne in particular returning with many battle scars. Once cleaned up and bruises assessed the squad went to try their hand in baseball batting cages, it is safe to say Ireland will have to wait a while for its first MLB star.
Our next set of fixtures saw the 1st XV face a Saskatoon U19 All star XV and the 2nd XV face their U17 equivalent. The 2nd XV laid down the marker for the 1st XV with a comprehensive 45-5 victory, the backline again benefitted from good work by the forwards, John McDonagh, Matty Hooks and Luke Crozier grabbing a brace each. The 1st XV produced a clinical performance with a number of tries beginning deep in their own 22; Darryl Morton carried superbly in the loose and was rewarded with a try whilst Daniel Reaney’s exceptional footwork saw him score 2 tries in a 63-0 victory.
A 7 hour transfer to Edmonton on Friday saw another recovery session in a local pool, with Zak Akil once again displaying his diving expertise. The next day saw us face a Celtic Barbarians XV; the Canadian side were physical at the contact area against a smaller RSA side and made their presence felt in the 34oc heat. RSA defended resiliently on their own line and where able to force key turn over’s and clear their lines. The skill set of the squad shone through in the second half, John McDonagh grabbing another brace with a great display of counter attacking play, whilst Nigel Simpson turned in a man of the match display and got his name on the score sheet. The final score saw Armagh run out 46-3 victors.
The next day allowed the squad some r and r in the West Edmonton Mall, which included 818 shops allowing the boys a chance to engage in some souvenir shopping. The following day we visited the indoor water park at the mall with boys enjoying the wave pool and the slides, some showing a bit more bravery than others. Nic Lennon went a bit further than the rest and braved the 106 foot indoor bungee jump. Our next set of fixtures followed against the Clansmen RFC. This saw the 1st XV produce a 79-0 victory in what Mr Hooks described as “The most clinical performance by an RSA side at his time at the school.” Daniel Reaney stole the show with 4 tries, whilst Duncan Steed produced a faultless display at full back. The 2nd XV displayed some excellent running rugby to win 58-0, John McDonagh and Toby McAlpine both grabbing a hat trick of tries.
We left Edmonton bound for Jasper; the squad got their first glimpse of the picturesque scenery of the Rockies and also some wildlife in the form of a Cariboo and a brown bear. That afternoon the squad spent some time at the Meite hot springs. We left Jasper and travelled to Banff, en route the squad stopped to travel up the stunning Athabasca Glacier, with some enjoying the opportunity of refreshment from the ice cold water running off the glacier. The following day saw a trip up the gondola in Banff to take in the breath taking views; this was followed by an afternoon of white water rafting, which was a fantastic experience for everybody.
We continued on to Calgary for our final two games of the tour. The selection was changed slightly with a leavers side selected allowing all the Year 14 pupils to play together for one last time, this gave Matthew Clarke the chance to move from open side and pull the strings from out half in a 55-0 victory with 5 of the 8 leavers getting on the score sheet. The 2nd team was made up of the majority of next year’s 1stXV and they showed a lot of promise in a 57-0 victory, Nigel Simpson scored three tries with Luke Crozier grabbing a brace.
Photos from both games are available to view here:
http://rjphotography.viewbook.com/2012-rugby/album/20120714irishvsarmagh?p=1
That afternoon we went to the Calgary Stampede, which was seen by some boys as the Balmoral show only 10 times larger, the highlight of the afternoon was the Rodeo which saw the squad’s number one equine lover, Toby McAlpine, look on in amazement.
That evening tour concluded with dinner and the awards, Ali Wright was chosen as player of the tour having scored 99 points and been the only player to play in all 5 of the 1t XV’s fixtures, John McDonagh showed real promise as an attacking full back and was voted players player of the tour. Neil Lutton was the most improved player with fellow 5th year Jonny Wilson the popular selection as best tourist. Ulster U20 squad members Stuart Hooks, Thomas Johnston and Matthew Clarke were selected in the newly established tour Hall of Fame. The next day saw us fly to Toronto before an overnight flight back to Dublin. It was a tired squad that returned to Armagh on the 16th July after a memorable and successful tour, as the squad became the first side from the school to go unbeaten on an overseas tour.
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