The touring party;
JH, Jasper, Joey, Jordan & Louie
Frazer, Ricky, Mike, Charlie, Sibby, Jack M, Gui & Tom Veloso, Cowell, Smithy, Drew, Fisher, Sully, Maggs, D Rose, Dowden, Puff & T.Knight

After an early meet down the club and some early initiations that all but one member had to do got the day off to the perfect start. A coach journey full of singing and laughter we arrived at the airport and bundled off the bus.

An easy flight and transfer to the hotel we arrived at our hotel for the weekend, a great mixture of rooms and personnel got people to know each other and we can all say by the end of the trip we maybe new each other too well.

The trip included a day on the beach, a day of rugby and a day on the strip, which all went swimmingly, many drinks were drunk and many clothes were ripped but the weather was good the beer was great but the shots were something else.

Our hosts, University of Algarve Rugby Club were brilliant, as soon as we got off the coach the welcomed us with open arms and pointed the non players straight to the bar. An epic game of rugby was to unfold;

After a few warm up beers and the worst game of touch the game got underway, and it was all T's. Our structure and set piece was superb, our catching & passing not so superb but Gui managed to pick the gap and head over for the first score. The game then took a strange turn, we realised that the ref was not giving T's an inch.

Our scrum was to powerful and the tackling to tough so the ref had openly admitted that this was going to be a biased game from 20 minutes in. Great running from, Louie, Frazer, Ricky, Williams & Dowden was not backed up with support from the likes of Jordan, Joey, Puff as it seemed they were blowing too much.

The game was tit for tat in exchanges, Mike, Ross, Dan Rose & even Sibby had some great surges and put the oppo under pressure this. Sibby managed to get over for a score and so did someone else.

But in the second half the game was completely one sided, uncontested scrums as they were being demolished and then Ugo Monye walked onto the pitch, their coach an ex pro player in the UK walked on against a battered T's side in the dying 10 minutes to get a minimum of 2 try's. Even though the game was one sided and T's were down, T's had the last laugh.

One of their try's however was amazing, and the covering tackle attempt from Louie Banks was his best hit of the season........... He laid on the floor.

Possibly the greatest moment in the match, Drew Derry, not played rugby since school and on his first ever rugby tour got the ball wide and like a salmon upstream dived over to get what was a well organised try. It was epic!

The boys then celebrated with the opposition who could not have enjoyed or welcomed T's more with good food, hospitality and some good beers. T's went on to win the more important fixture of the day .... The boat race, this wasn't before their horse of a dog had some fun....

T's went onto enjoy the rest of their tour with no trouble and pure enjoyment.... well except from Mike. Now all the members are beginning to recover, the memories that were made on over the 5 days will stay with the boys forever. Mainly due to the fact most people are scarred for life.

But that's what tour and rugby is all about, having the ability to tour with 23 of your rugby peers in a different country, play the game you love, bond for that period of time and bond with a team across the ocean.

I think all T's members wouldn't change it for the world. Well done to all those that toured and toured well.

Until Next time
JH