Sub-18 Basque Country Tour Report

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Sub-18 Basque Country Tour 2014 Report

by Dr. Jones

The Sub-18 squad, along with a handful of returning tour veterans, assembled at Lisbon airport on the last Friday of the spring term in eager anticipation of a weekend tour of the Basque Country.  As the group gathered, Diogo Silva was the first to don the now much travelled pink pyjamas for reasons unknown. Francesco Bernando maintained tradition by arriving suitably late for his fifteenth Sub-18 tour whilst the rest of the party were midway through security.

Whilst waiting to board the plane, various rules and regulations for the tour were highlighted and coaches Dingo and Stretch composed various missions for the boys to undertake surreptitiously over the course of the weekend. A positive accusation of one's mission by another tour member would result in a forfeit, failure to complete by one far more laborious. Some of the antics involved may appear in this report, though may be hidden amongst other non-intentional acts or words of foolishness. Whilst climbing the steps to the plane, coach Stretch discovered he'd already misplaced the official tour camera resulting in him being awarded the pink pjs on touch down in Bilbao.

From the airport the party headed to Getxo rugby club, the venue for the evening's game and a pre match meal. The opponents for the game were a sub 21 academy side from Getxo. The game was played in good spirit with St. Julian's playing an open attacking brand of rugby and winning 5-0 with Sebastian Bader scoring for the tourists. But for some costly fumbles near the try line the winning margin may have been larger. With two other teams turning down the opportunity to take on St Julian's the same two teams took to field after a lengthy break giving Tim Villar plenty of time to soothe his bruised eye with a can of ice spray (the outside, not the contents). Dingo made it clear that the costly mistakes needed to be cut out while Stretch rallied the troops with a rousing half time team talk. The second half saw another 1 try to nil victory for St. Julian's with Aleph on scoring duty. His celebrations, however, led to him being swiftly awarded the pink jimjams. Once again, the score might have been greater if some of the dazzling chip chicks put through by Jaime or Evin Fay' speculative drop goal had proved fruitful. Evin's kicking was no doubt affected by the thumping hit he'd received courtesy of a tackle from teammate Machado that left Ben Rough seeking out tips on Buffness for the rest of the tour.

The boys then headed for San Sebastián and a quick check into the hotel before heading out into town to sample the delights of the Basque Country at night and the wide variety of Pintxos (Tapas) on offer in the narrow streets.

Saturday morning was spent at the beach with a couple of brave souls taking a dip in the Biscay, while the rest played a game of touch and some frisbee. Those who'd had their missions rumbled during breakfast-time accusations were put through their paces with a morning fitness challenge. The squad then sat down to a team lunch before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the evening.

The Anoeta stadium was the venue for the the evening’s entertainment, with Bayonne taking on Stade Français. The Basque team were heavily supported and, dressed in blue and white, their fans were in fine voice before the start of the game. However a lone rendition of the Portuguese national anthem could be heard amongst the fervent French singing. Bayonne ran out winners of a tight but enjoyable game 24-19 thanks mainly to the boot of Bustos Moyano.

A long walk back into town from the stadium was made for another night of Pintxos in the streets of San Sebastián. It seems St. Julian's weren't the only touring team in town with many of the boys spotting Sergio Parisse and some of the other Stade Français players refuelling after their narrow loss.

After a hearty breakfast and checking out of the hotel the tour bus rolled back into Bilbao so that the players could take in the architectural splendour of the Guggenheim Museum and its artwork before heading to  the airport for the flight back to Lisbon.

Special thanks must go to Bryce Bevin For the organising the game with Getxo and the fine hospitality afforded to the boys in Bilbao.