The Gibraltar u12s went to went to Bath, the hot bed of rugby in the south west, on their first ever international tour. 16 boys made the trip which was planned as an all round rugby experience to show the boys everything rugby can offer. A late start on Tuesday 28th March saw the team take the late Gibraltar flight to Bristol and as was to be expected the boys were buzzing with excitement. We were kindly hosted by Prior Park College and were staying in their lodging houses. Arriving at nearly 2am, a quick team talk and house rules saw lights out with very one still on cloud nine but eager to get the rugby started when we woke up.
Wednesday saw us take a training session from Paul Hull, head of PE at Prior Park and an ex-England international full back as well as ex head coach for Gloucester. What was planned as an hour and a half session soon turned into well over 2 hours and the boys responding superbly to the creating two on ones and tackling which were the themes for the day.
The afternoon saw us in the cinema for some team building followed by a cheeky Nando's where the boys braved the extra hot sauce with aplomb.
The next morning saw us take the 30 minute picturesque walk down to the Rec for our first training session with the Bath community coaches. The sun was shining and the boys were eager to impress their new coaches for the day. A two hour session based on finding space and contact work was just what the doctor ordered. Afterwards we got the opportunity to meet the Bath first team players with signatures and photos all around.
The afternoon saw us take in some much needed culture at the world famous Roman Bath Museum. The boys (surprisingly?) seemed to really enjoy the experience and once again showed they were a credit to Gibraltar and rugby. That evening the touring party and travelling fans met up for dinner which gave they coaches a chance for an already much needed beer!
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