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Student Reflections

Jr Boys Rugby Tour
Throughout the course of our tour we played five tough and hard-fought games. We played two 30-minute games on the Saturday after we arrived. Thanks to a serious case of jet lag most of us had a challenging first game to start the tour. There were a few communication errors which caused us to lose our first two matches.

Three days later we played our third game against Peebles High School. It was a very tough game and a couple of players were injured. Peebles pulled away during the second half for the win.

Our fourth game was against Barnard Castle School from just outside of Durham. This was our best-played game on tour; the team really came together and started to play for one other. Sadly we lost that game.

Our final game was in Newcastle, England against the Crossley Heath School. During warm-up you could tell the team was dreading playing this game. Everyone was tired of the mediocre English meals and the hours spent playing FIFA. However, the team pulled through and secured the win to put an end to the tour. It was great to see both the A’s and B’s learn and improve for the upcoming season.

While on tour, we saw and did many things, but the three things which stood out the most were walking around Edinburgh Castle, Scottish dancing with the young ladies of Peebles High School, and watching a Man City football match against Burnley.

The castle, also known as William Wallace Castle, was a great cultural experience in which we had the opportunity to explore the scene ourselves.

The dancing was an awesome experience; we had lots of fun and some broken ankles as well.

The football match was really fascinating. We were in Burnley's seating area even though almost all of our team was Man City fans!

The billeting experience that took place over our tour created several friends and memories that we will not be forgetting in the near future. The involvement of the billets created an understanding of a different lifestyle from what we are used to in our bubble at Shawnigan. All of our hosts and their families were very welcoming and even managed to wash our muddy rugby kit. With each of us moving to 4 different families throughout our trip, we were only able to have a max of 4 days with each host. But, even in this short time span, all of us managed to make strong connections. All of this was made possible because of the hard work and dedication of our coaching staff.

We would like to thank Mr. Monro, Mr. Plater, Mr. Hall and Mr. Samuel for accompanying us on this great trip and coaching us.

We would also like to say thank-you to Mr. Robertson, Mr. Welsh and our coaches for making this incredible experience a possibility for us. It was truly a privilege to have such an unforgettable trip.

– James M, Roberto G, and Ethan G.

Photos by Stephen Lane
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