RISCA YOUTH RFC

CANADIAN TOUR 2007 – WRU REQUESTED REPORT

Introduction

This Risca Youth RFC tour of Ontario was first mooted following a UK youth tour by the Brampton club in 2004. That tour led to the establishment of personal rugby links between the Brampton and Risca clubs and there has been three player exchanges between the clubs in the period since.

The tour was undertaken during July 2007 (July 3-14 inclusive), organised by Risca Youth RFC utilising Zoom Airlines and Uniglobe Travel (now CSTT Sports Management Int’l) of Canada.

Tour Itinerary

Put together by CSTT; the Brampton link partly dictated the itinerary. The basic itinerary included the following accommodation arrangements: Adults: 3 nights hostel / 5 nights hotel / 3 nights billeted; Youth players: 3 nights hostel / 2 nights hotel / 6 nights billeted.

The tour began in ‘downtown’ Toronto (2days) before moving onto Oakville (3 days), back to Toronto (2 days) and finally Brampton (3 days). The basic package included a sightseeing trip to the Niagara Falls and included a jet boating excursion on the Niagara River. Additional excursions were taken up such as theme and water parks and a trip to the Rogers sky dome to see a Blue Jays baseball game; all were reasonably priced. While at Brampton the adults were also given the opportunity to see a Toronto Argonauts CFL game. The tour was padded out with days at leisure, and opportunities were taken to visit Toronto’s ‘Chinatown’, the CN tower, various shopping malls and lakeside visits.

The tour match schedule was as follows:

Sun July 8         19:00 - Game v Oakville Crusaders RFC (select side)

Tue July 10       19:00 - Game v Ontario Provincial Juniors (U17)

Fri July 13        19:00 - Game v Brampton Beavers RFC (select side)

The discrepancy between WRU youth (U19) and Ontario youth (U18 & U21) is slightly problematic with respect to ‘matching’ playing ages. Some of the Risca Youth side have returned from the tour as senior age players, the bulk of the rest of the players who toured are middle youth age (U18) youth on return.

First game: v Oakville Crusaders Select

The Crusaders side was classed as ‘select’, i.e. U18 / U21 and they had thirty-five players available to select from. There was some concern on our part that we may be overrun, the sheer number of players giving them fresh legs in the hot and humid conditions. With respect to our numbers (nineteen) all the (4) Risca replacements were forwards. Oakville started with a predominantly U18 side and it was a physical encounter. The score at H-T was 12-0 to Risca and Oakville considerably ‘beefed up’ their side for the second half. The Risca team were well up for the physicality, playing very well and ran out 29-0 winners. The post match reception was excellent, with the usual after match meal followed by the customary speeches and exchanging of club gifts. The Risca players had been well received, many of the billeting parents made a point of speaking to me regarding their good nature.

Sunday July 8^th 2007 - Risca Youth v Oakville Crusaders (H-T 12-0; F-T 29-0)

Back: Owen; Jenkins; Burczyk; Brewster; Smith; Fairclough; Wright; Powell C; Powell A

Front: James; Sargeant; Brown; Bush: Jones; Morgan; Thomas: Powell S; Willis: Colwell

Scorers: Tries: Powell C (2), Smith; Sargeant; Jones; Cons: Morgan (2)

Second game: v Ontario Provincial U17’s

This game was played at Fletchers Fields, home of the Ontario RU. Having played a club side first we had witnessed the physicality of the Canadian game and the decision to put out the provincial U17 side against us I thought was a sign that this team, although young by youth standards would be very competitive.  As expected the skill levels of the provincial players were better than what we had witnessed in the first club game. The game was again very physical and the provincial team must be credited for their commitment. Risca had the edge in terms of physical strength and size but they didn’t give an inch, and had a sustained period on the Risca line when they spurned a penalty kick opportunity to push for a try. The H-T score was again 12-0 but the starting team was obviously their best and substitutions in the second half did not improve them, final score 34-0. Although the result was clear-cut Risca left the field now with some minor injuries following two tough games.

Tuesday July 10^th 2007 - Risca Youth v Ontario Provincial U17 (H-T 12-0; F-T 34-0)

Back: Powell C; James; Jenkins; Brewster; Fairclough; Smith; Wright; Burczyk; Thomas; Jones

Front: Morgan; Powell A; Sargeant; Bush; Willis; Powell S; Brown; Colwell; Owen

Scorers: Tries: Smith; Sargeant; Powell C; Jones; Ming Lai (Brampton); Cons: Morgan (3), Pens: Morgan

Third game: v Brampton Select

The Brampton game followed closely making it three in six days in very demanding conditions. To combat the conditions we ensured that the team arrived early to every game, giving the players plenty of time to get physically prepared and our back-up staff kept the players well doused and watered before and during all three games.  We were expecting that the Brampton game would be the toughest of the three and the second half turned out to be just that. The H-T score of 29-0 was indicative of our dominance but as with the first match, Brampton brought on older players towards the end of the half and at half time. At this point we were carrying some injuries and the physicality of the second half was proving very hard. Brampton crossed for two tries to bring the score back to 29-14 but Risca pegged them back with a penalty kick before finishing with a try out wide in the dying minutes to seal the victory 37-14.

Friday July 13^th 2007 - Risca Youth v Brampton Select (H-T 29-0; F-T 37-14)

Back: Sargeant; Jenkins; James; Fairclough; Smith; Wright; Owen; Burczyk; Powell A; Brewster

Front: Colwell; Brown; Thomas: Bush; Morgan; Jones; Powell S; Powell C; Willis

Scorers: Tries: Smith; Sargeant; Thomas (2); Morgan; Cons: Morgan (3), Pens: Morgan (2)

Conclusions

The youth players conducted themselves superbly both on and off the field, they were a credit to Risca RFC. It was fitting that a senior club committee man; who decided to ‘follow’ the tour, booking flights only a week in advance of the departure date was there to witness it first hand.

The Canadian end was well organised and I would have no problem in recommending CSTT to any club wishing to use their services. The itinerary was well planned and at very short notice they did everything possible regarding all necessary arrangements for the late addition to the tour party.

The reception we received at both the hosting clubs was excellent. I think the clubs got it right by playing ‘select’ sides (i.e. a mixture of U18 / 21 players) against us to address the age balance, fair in the circumstances considering that some of the Risca players were technically seniors. Generally, the Canadian style of play is based more on physical power than deft and innovative skills, but from what we came across, there is a huge enthusiasm for the game in the Toronto region (this was borne out by the fact that both the clubs we visited had large junior set up’s, run three senior sides and a women’s section) and they will go from strength to strength.  The provincial set-up is also very well organised. With respect to the (U17) provincial side, we were not to know their strength but with hindsight perhaps an U18 side would have been a better match.  Overall the tour was a resounding suceess.

Bob Owen

Risca Youth RFC

July 2007