Thanks to a lot of hard work behind the scenes the under 14s were lucky enough to go on tour a couple of weeks ago to the beautiful surroundings of the Independent School, Worksop College.
On the Friday night two mini-buses set off from Green Lane waved off by parents no doubt planning a quiet, restful weekend of their own! On good advice, Nik James took the M62 Yorkshire route and arrived nicely on time whilst Andy Povey, still trying to live it down, was tempted by the A50 Stoke-on-Trent route a longer and alas more time consuming alternative. One of the best things about being based at Worksop College was the superb facilities and fantastic food (both quantity and quality). After arriving and having consumed a hearty tea the lads were whisked off to the swimming pool by the excellent staff from our travel company Klub Tours,allowing the coaching staff time to unpack and relax over a beverage or two and friendly games! of darts and pool.With a game on the Saturday morning the lads were packed off to bed for a well earned sleep.
After a full English breakfast it was outside to prepare for the first of two, tour matches.Our opponents on the first day were the under 14s from Dinnington. Initially we thought we had the wrong team as they looked a very tall and powerful outfit. Still smarting from their plate semi-final defeat against Rochdale, Ormskirk were keen to put in a big display and show that last week’s performance was a case of, ‘a bad day at the office.’ From the kick-off ‘Kirk were keen to show that big teams held no fear for them and this proved to be the case with some excellent tackling and committed rucking.It was not long before the lads took the lead when they won a scrum near the Dinnington line and Harry James picked up the ball and went in at the corner.Just before the end of the first period Robbie Jones found a gap and straightened well to go in for try number two.
Ormskirk then played some of their best rugby in the second period with the forwards well led by Arron Waggoner,Kyle Hoy and Danny Holloran dominating play. Ormskirk pressure eventually showed with a neat move down the backs leaving Jay Owens with an opportunity to go in at the corner.
Dinnington finally got their act together at the start of the final period and were quickly on the scorebook with a try coming from a good forward drive and easily converted.Ormskirk were stung into action and Graham Bishop struck a penalty kick to extend the lead shortly followed by a try by Tom Anderson and a conversion also by Graham Bishop.With legs tiring, having played extra minutes, Luke Millington took advantage of fatigue in the Dinnington camp to go over. Dinnington however were not prepared to lie down and broke away to score two quick tries to give the score a bit of respectability. However Ormskirk put the icing on the cake with another fine individual try by Craig Ennis in the last few minutes of the game
Full-time: Ormskirk 35  Dinnington 19
After a hearty lunch the lads were out with the Klub Tours staff shooting (targets not each other!) and bike riding whilst the coaches enjoyed a bit of R&R and relaxed with drinks and nibbles whilst watching the EDF semi-finals on TV with the rest of the coaches from the Under 13’s (also at Worksop on the same weekend.)In the evening it was off to Mansfield bowling to finish off a very rewarding day. On the Sunday it was an early start(earlier due to the clocks going forward) and a visit to Boston Rugby Club at the impressive Princess Royal Sports Centre. Unfortunately it transpired that Boston didn’t really have an Under 14 team and we would be playing a team made up of mainly under 15’s.Obviously having come so far there was no doubt that the match would go ahead but it has always to be remembered that this is never ideal as there can be a gap of nearly two years between some of the players and there can be a real difference physically between them.
Ormskirk started the game quite brightly with Tom Povey,unable to play in the game the previous day due to injury,going in at the corner. Ormskirk continued to dominate and Harry James,having a fine tour, went in for try number two. Ormskirk were in complete control and even Michael Quirk with a dodgy back was hitting the rucks and mauls with real aggression.Ormskirk ended the half by going in for try three after another scorching run by winger Jay Owens to go in at the corner.
Half-time: Ormskirk 15  Boston 0
With Ormskirk making wholesale changes they somehow lost a bit of momentum and this allowed the powerful Boston pack to come back into the game and they drove over for their first try and converted well.To rub salt into the wounds Boston continued to make use of their weight advantage scoring another two tries in quick succession.With minutes to go however ‘Kirk attacked and Craig Ennis burst through to score in the corner. With the match almost won Boston mounted one last attack but knocked on just yards short of the line.Ormskirk were told this was the last play and from the scrum only needed to put the ball dead. Unfortunately the ball was charged down and pounced on by a Boston player to give them a last ditch victory with a well taken conversion to rub salt into the wounds.
Full-time: Ormskirk 20  Boston 24
Although beaten the lads can take a lot of credit for their eforts in this match as it is never easy playing an older and stronger team physically and only falling at the last hurdle.The lads were keen to get back to Worksop for further activities, again making use of the fabulous facilities at the college especially a superb professional climbing wall.All too soon it was time to take to the road and get back to home.Even though at times a little boisterous and untidy the lads were well behaved and represented their club and families with distinction. From the lads a big thank you to all the coaches who gave up their weekends especially Nik and Andy who had the onerous task of driving, Dave Jones for refereeing with his usual skill and impartiality and Quirky and Lloydy for keeping the lads organised.Finally a big thank-you to all the staff of Klub Tours who ensured the weekend went smoothly and that the lads enjoyed themselves.
