A very friendly, helpful tour
Easter Weekend Friday 18th – 21st April 2025,
by Paul Eynon
It all started on Thursday 17th April after training when tour kit was distributed, designed by the Colts leadership team of George Emerson, Grady Butler, Owen Mills, Rhys Eynon, Sam Cox and Stan Dennis and sponsored by TWG Trade. The excitement was building, but one more sleep to go.
Back row (left to right): David Stradling, Owen Mills, Stan Dennis, Nickerson Said, Sam Cox, Daryl Cox, Grady Butler, George Starling, Paul Eynon, Jayden Kempthorne, Sonny Branch, Alfie Stevens, Deivids Eihvalds, James Barrett.
Front row: Ed Turcu, George Selway, George Emerson, Rhys Eynon, Tommy Barrett, Ollie Howard, Rhys Warren, Aaron Martin, Adam Fry, Mark Butler.
Good Friday 18th April 2025:
Meeting at the rugby club at 10:30am. Photos of the excited group were taken and the coach loaded with Western Style costumes and Minions outfits we left Latton Park very much looking forward to what was to come. Reminders to all to be good on Good Friday!
Passports and E/GHIC cards were checked to avoid getting stopped at passport control, a fine, and a long, lonely journey home alone. Heading down to Dover to catch our ferry, the rules were reviewed and the songs practiced.
Our first achievement accomplished, putting the “Good” in Good Friday, we arrived in Calais without losing a man overboard, successfully on foreign soil the group excitement rose, for the next couple of hours before we checked in at our hotel. The players went off into Ghent to explore.
Holy Saturday 19th April:
It’s rugby day! For 9am registration we needed to meet for Breakfast at 8am and leave for Blaarmeersen and Ghent Rugby Football Club at 8:30am to play some rugby. Our first game at 10:25am, possibly our earliest kick off this season so we set up camp and our friendly “here to help” team helped other teams set up gazebos and fill up water bottles.
Games were played over 15 minutes with rolling subs. Yellow cards meant 2 mins in the sin bin. Red cards and you are banned for the rest of the tournament. 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw. No conversions, no penalty shots at goal and no drop goals in the pool stages. Conversions were allowed in the final. None of that really affected us but it was good to know. With all the games going on people are dressed in Western attire and enjoying being outside in the sunshine.
What was supposed to happen, as it was Holy Saturday, the team were meant to say a prayer before and after each game a prayer. But we forgot, so it didn’t happen and for some reason it wasn’t picked up. At least we got a team photo, well done coaches!
Game 1 Harlow v Camborne Colts B
Approach to game, quickly warm up, take a glug of water and crack on. We should probably have done a bit more preparation as Camborne were keen and played some great physical rugby.
Perhaps the early kick off was affecting our performance. Final Score: 0-2. Tries: None
Game 2 Harlow v Ampthill RFC
Approach to game, get ready to go, go out there play fast and furious. We kicked off they scored straight away. So, all going to plan, what is the point of coaches? But then…. we played some good rugby with a little bit of effort we took on Ampthill, who won the competition last year, and played more like our normal selves carrying well and then setting up the play nicely for Owen Mills to score unopposed as the team had dragged all the defence out of shape. Final Score: 1-1. Tries: Owen Mills
Game 3 Harlow v Nuneaton
We were running on fumes in this game and although the watching Wellingborough were cheering us on, they have a great rivalry with Nuneaton, we were not at our best and the heat was playing its part. That’s it the pool games complete, onto the knockouts. Final Score: 0-3 (we think) Tries: None
Game 4 Harlow v Cefn Coed
The approach to this game was rather different, having some tired players we opted for a fun game. This was a game we must lose to avoid another game. We completely took the opposition by surprise with this approach. One of their players hadn’t scored all year and his father had said he’d give him a tenner if he scored. Our player obliged and let him run straight though. With comedy dives out of the way and dropping the ball over the try line and a drop goal attempt from out wide by our tight head prop Sonny. One downside was that in a game we had to lose, Deivids worked very hard to score and then explain it in great detail. A lot of fun was had. Even Pierre had a run out.
Final Score: 3-1. Tries: Deivids Eihvalds
Time now to put on the full Western gear, sing a few songs and depart for our hotel and explore Ghent city centre.
Easter Sunday 20th April:
Most of the day was spent slowly waking up and exploring Ghent and enjoying a pleasant lunch. The players found an all you can eat ribs place. Chicken Legs ordered some water, he’s the civilised one, but when the bill came it was €40+ some of the players weren’t so pleased about that. The coaches went for a steak somewhere else.
This evening is Minions Day, but it’s also Easter Sunday and it’s not Easter without an Easter Egg Hunt, who found the most? Easter Eggs were distributed around the terrace in front of the hotel and the players spent an unexpectedly short period of time hunting them.
Then it was off out into Gothic Ghent under the command of “Tonight….. we steal the moon.” Later, we were asked if we succeeded, which we had there wasn’t a moon in the sky! (It was also raining so we’ll take that as another success and the clouds blackened the sky.)
Easter Monday 21st April:
Clean up, room inspections, get checked out, get on the bus and start the journey home. The bus journey from Ghent to Calais was a tired affair, most slept, but then time for an Adele song to serenade our bus driver Dannie who was a great sport for the whole tour and had very much enjoyed the players singing.
We managed to get an earlier ferry from Calais to Dover, which was a bonus as Upper Clapton were due to be on the same boat, so we beat them home!
On the bus from Dover to Harlow, final songs and thank you too all. The biggest thank you must go to Daryl Cox for taking on the organisation of our tour dealing with all the logistics and making sure everyone had paid let alone putting up with all the questions, where is this what time is that, has anyone seen my ……? Mark Butler for keeping most of our players match fit both on and off the pitch. Our supporting adult cast of David Stradling and James Barrett who listened intently to problems raised and then just let the players sort it our themselves. Our leadership team of George Emerson, Grady Butler, Owen Mills, Rhys Eynon, Sam Cox and Stan Dennis who came up with the song list and the rules to ensure that there was fun for all.
It’s been a pleasure to see this group of players come together this season with a little bit of on the pitch encouragement and direction from me as head coach. Off the pitch they have gelled together and made a team, it’s something to be proud of and to cherish for the rest of their lives.
Tour is done, we arrived home, twenty players out, twenty players back, it’s time for bed! Tomorrow, we start to plan the Colts Tour for 2026, who is in?
