Quite a few players, parents and coaches stayed in a hotel together the night before, which led to a really nice social and bonding time for everybody involved. The kids had so much fun hanging out together.
Maybe a little too much fun :) then the next day they seemed a little overwhelmed. With the amazing grounds and size of the tournament our players werent quite ready for the first match and learned a valuable lesson about picking yourself up from a big loss.
Nonetheless they were ready for the 2nd game and for 2/3's of the game they showed what they were made of. We saw some great ball carries, supporting play, tackling and running. Everything we train each week. Unfortunately we were caught in the wrong foot in the last few minutes and gave the game away.
In the 3rd game, I think a combination of a little frustration and hunger made the team thump the opposition, not allowing one try.
After lunch we had 3 more games, which unfortunately we lost. However with a lot of the squad experiencing this kind of tournament for the first time, with real opposition and 6 games, there is nothing to be ashamed of.
When they got hurt, they got back up, if the other team scored, they never gave up, they stuck to their guns and they can be proud of what they achieved.
After the hard fought games the team got ice creams and medals and were not sad about the results, they were proud to have worked as a team, never giving up, having fun together. So they learned a really valuable lesson ... NEVER GIVE UP! :)

Finally I would like to send out a huge thank you to the families that came to support. Having banners on the sideline and cheering the team on was an amazing experience.

Now we will get ready for the tri nations tournament in Mulhouse.

See you then and GO ZUG!!!