I have known a lot of these boys since they were really little. We’ve had our challenges, fall-outs, sit-outs, etc., over the years, but this weekend they conducted themselves, without exception, as I would expect a team of young men to do. They were polite, courteous and cheerful throughout. It turns out that they are all, in fact, very sensible indeed. A credit to their parents!

Having had a very late night on Friday followed by a very early morning (harp music will haunt me forever) most of us were fairly “tired” on Saturday but the superb Flers welcoming committee had laid on the perfect wake-up breakfast for us in their lovely clubhouse. The coffee was strong, the bread plentiful and the weather just perfect.

After a brief stop, everyone wandered off to town to take in the sights. The Colts, sure enough, were to be found sitting outside the kebab shop waiting for it to open. The market provided some lovely oysters, plentiful paella and some tasty crepes. Russell King, (the Colts’ manager), Nathan, and I were fortunate enough to get a guided tour from Stef, taking in the Chateau, the market and the local wine shop. Getting around in Flers is slow as Stef knows everyone.

Matches got underway at 2pm with the U14s putting on a convincing win over the hosts. The noise in the stand was starting to grow, Stuart Barden had Googled the translation of his favourite chant and “ALLEZ LES ROUGE” rang out from the terraces for the next three and a half hours.

At 3pm, the Colts kicked off and continued Field’s winning streak while the U12s started to warm up in the rather excessive dead ball zone.

Four-thirty arrived and it was “time”. A last minute “motivational” from the coaches and some spectacular new kit set the boys up in the right spirit. Things were tense almost straight away. Play was within a yard of our try line for what seemed like forever, the ball being dropped into the arms of the Flers Freight Train. The whole Field team dug in and fended off the attack time after time. Finally, the ball was skilfully cleared from within the dead ball zone giving the team well-earned time to regroup. A fine chip from Flers to their right wing resulted in a try for the home team. Their fifteen-strong team returned to the centre of the battlefield as the Petersfield coaches offered praise for a valiant defence.

The first quarter of this 4x12-minute match ended with Flers 1-0 up but spirits were high in the camp in anticipation of a fight back. There was some muttering about how much water one should add to Pastis before a consensus was reached; we were not seeing double. We politely pointed out to the ref that the game should be 12-a-side at this age group.
With the extraneous Flers players were removed, gaps appeared for Field to play through.

The Rouge team ran in two tries to take the lead, including an exceptional dummy that drew in four defenders to protect the front row crash ball, only to find a sweet pass to the right allowed Field through for their second.

The third quarter was, in places, tense. Flers would not back off and managed to find a way through to level the score at 2-2. The final quarter saw a stoic performance from Petersfield as Flers kept on driving into the right hand 22. Each time we managed to recover the ball and clear play only for them to come crashing back again.

Finally, the whistle went and the players began to realise what they had achieved. They went down 0-3 at home the week before and were fired up and ready to ensure the same fate did not befall them this time. I am sure that, on the day, Petersfield was the better team, but a 2-all draw was a fine end to un undefeated day for the tourists.

I have been managing or coaching this squad up through the age groups from U6 and I know that each and every one of them has attributes that are vital to the team. Up until now, we have seen many isolated moments where imaginative tries have been scored or moves hook together to steal the ball and run clear of the defence. This match, however, was on a completely different level. There were looping runs, switches, cross-field kicks and long ball dummies at the line-out. People out of position were forced to step into new roles which they did as if it were their natural position. I really can’t single anyone out. Everyone was on fire. Russell King, the Colts’ manager, addressed the U12s after the match and told them that they had played the best game of rugby he had seen all day (and the U14 and Colts matches were pretty impressive). This sentiment was echoed by the stand and the hosts.

There were some knocks along the way with bashed heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes that forced players off the pitch early in the session which must have been disappointing. They must remember, however, that they did their part and put themselves on the line for the team. Every part was a vital piece in this extraordinary jigsaw. WELL DONE BOYS!!

The evening offered a chance to see how much preparation the Colts had put into the trip. They had the locations of night spots firmly embedded. The younger ones settled for a quiet pression in the brasserie next to the hotel or a session of bowling around the corner.

The buses ran a shuttle until late and we were all set up for a good sleep before rising for breakfast prior to our educational trip to Juno Beach around 20 miles West of Caen.

This was known as the Canadian beach during D-Day. There was plenty to see for the couple of hours we were there including the opportunity to survey the increasingly stormy sea that would be our way home later that evening. The crossing was actually fairly calm after which we had a cosy chat with Border Force before being allowed on our way. An enthusiastic sing-song was a fitting end to a really great weekend.

Thank you so much for your support this season and a special thanks to the coaches that make this all so enjoyable.

There is plenty on over the summer – including rugby force day (more to follow), the Pub 7s this weekend, the Fijian 7s, the East vs West Royal Navy Rugby League matches and more. Please get involved where you can.