Sub-14 Rome 6 Nations Tour

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Tour Report by Simon Mount

The Sub-14 Rome 6 Nations Tour 2014 took place over the final weekend of this year’s famous old Rugby tournament and was another rip-roaring success, thoroughly enjoyed by all concerned.

The 5.30 am airport meeting time was unprecedentedly respected by one and all and the travel gods sped us on to a glorious Roman spring morning. The Spartan comforts of the Hotel Sciracusa were sampled for the first time before we headed off to the hill top town of Frascati, to whose Rugby Club we were returning three and a half years after we began our touring odyssey with the sub-16 squad back in 2010, and who proved once again to be the most gracious and welcoming of hosts.

Our match was the ante pasta on the Friday evening menu, as an Argentinean Senior side was also in town, although there was plenty of beef on display in the sub-14 opposition ranks. Perhaps it was this that caused our boys to suffer the worst case of stage fright they had experienced all season, with the hosts rattling up 19 unanswered points in the opening ten minutes, with their inside centre cutting loose with a passable impression of Jupiter and sparking the usual dark whisperings of age-group subterfuge.

As it threatened to become the most unappetizing of entrées, a turn-around of Herculean proportions began as Henri Maes opened our account by finishing off a superb team try, to add to the hope that had followed the chivalrous withdrawal of Jupiter by the Frascati coaching staff. The remainder of the first half and all of the second witnessed some of the most spirited and concerted Rugby from the entire squad that they had produced all season. Everybody played their part in denying space to the opposition, making telling tackles and combining well to attack the emerging areas of weakness with ball in hand. Henri Maes, Zé Maria Novais and João Machado were especially prominent, while Sebastião Sarmento and Manuel Carneiro made some scything runs, but it was Alec Goold who led the way with a fine display of controlled aggression, intelligent counter-attacking and serious bravery as the last line of defence – a spirited contribution that earned him the coveted Man of the Tour Match Award in a famous 45 – 31 victory.

Having swapped jerseys with their opposite numbers and savoured the tasty delights of chef Camilli’s Terzo Tempo fare, the boys settled down to watch the main event from the impressive stands of the Frascati stadium, before being called to receive a pennant and trophy from our generous hosts. Having bid our farewells and made the short journey back into town, some tired heads were eventually rested on the Sciracusa pillows, ahead of the very full day on the morrow.

That day too dawned bright and beautiful, enabling us to take in all the magnificent sights of the ancient metropolis in their full splendour, as we wandered around the Colloseum, Palatine Hill and Forum, before winding our way through the marvellous back streets of the heart of the city. Hopes to enjoy a leisurely lunch were somewhat frustrated by our relatively slow pace and, once the Tiber had been crossed, there was some unsightly scrambling for any street pizza joint that could be found as we joined the throng that was heading northwards to the Stadio Olimpico and had our first exposure to that strangest of beasts, the travelling England Rugby supporter.

Fancy dress and beery bonhomie characterized an oddly harmonious atmosphere around and within the stadium, where white shirts were in the slight majority amongst the 75,000 excited fans. Not quite so harmonious were the two anthems, nevertheless  hammered out with genuine gusto. The game was very open with lots of running Rugby from both teams, but England opened up an early lead and went about trying to improve their points difference sufficiently to give them a shout at the title, should Ireland win later in Paris. By the end Italy had received a bit of a battering, and even the diehard England fans were joining in the chants of I-tal-ia as they rang around the ground.

As the last strains of Sweet Chariot died out we trudged our weary way back along the banks of the Tiber in search of the Nag’s Head, where we were to witness the bizarre sights and sounds of a pub full of Englishmen in Rome cheering on a French team playing against Ireland on the many flat screen TVs dotted around the walls. Kian Fay must have had his Irish blood coursing through his veins in the face of such one-eyed provocation, but mustered some support from his neutral Portuguese team mates, and had the last laugh as the TMO ruled out France’s last minute try to hand the title to Ireland, the perfect ending to Brian O’Driscoll's international career and to leave the rest of the Nag’s Head in a state of speachless shock.

After honing their haggling skills with some persistent laser gun street hawkers on their way to the Trevi Fountain (Haggler of the Tour – Diogo Raposo), and gorged themselves on some excellent but wildly over-priced ice cream, the squad then moved up the Spanish Steps and proceded to lazer zap many of the Eternal City’s iconic landmarks. This frantic and slightly irritating behaviour was the prelude to the final leg of our Roman foot march, which took us back to Termini and a well-earned night’s rest.

The Sub-14 Rome 6 Nations 2014 Tour party was a credit to the club. Apart from behaving impeccably (for 13 year olds), they displayed great team spirit and camaraderie throughout the tour. Players from different year groups, schools, friendship groups and nationalities all gelled well together and there was not a hint of cliquishness, which was great to see. The coaches recognised Miguel Bacelar as the epitome of this spirit of togetherness and fun, and he was awarded the Best Tourist prize.

Many thanks are due to Mr Ferris and Mr Costa for accompanying the tour party, to Mr Rains (who sadly had to give up his place on the tour at the last minute for personal reasons), to Gordon Campbell at Frascati, and to Jessica Hubert and Wide Travel’s Bernardo Mendes for their help in organising the tour.