Doncaster Rugby Club

The boys bonding with their Dutch hosts

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No Sleep til……..Bedtime!

Doncaster’s Under 14’s (this year’s 15s) tour to Holland.

Two golden rules of touring: Rule number 1: “what happens on tour stays on tour” Rule number 2: “See rule number 1!” This maybe a short article.

We all met at Castle Park on Thursday 22nd May to begin our epic voyage to foreign parts. The tour theme was Yorkshire boys on tour so flat caps and pigeons were the order of the day. We originally thought of whippets, but they all ran off and even our fastest lads could not catch them. The pigeons came in all shapes and sizes. We even had a parrot painted grey. Some birds will do anything to get a free holiday.

The flat caps and pigeons became valuable currency as we all started to lose them during the tour. At one point Paul “I’m only 12” Hill, 13, had collected 6 caps and made a tidy profit as the tourists tried to avoid the fine bucket.

The coach left at 12.01 am on Friday and set off down the M1 to Dover. The tour entourage settled comfortably into two groups: parents and players. The 38th parallel was drawn to form North and South Bus. The Lads at the back and the Dads at the front and never the twain shall meet The boys behaved impeccably as we travelled southward. The parents…..well that’s another story!

We reached Dover by 6 am and we were in Calais by 8.30 am heading towards Holland. We reached the camp by 3.30 pm. Not bad, 15 hours on a coach with one toilet! Dave, “Why are all coach drivers called Dave?” had taken the scenic route. Everyone remained remarkably unscathed on Friday night until the first Kangaroo Court session: His Honour The Beak Liam Taylor presiding. Head Coach Mark Oakley was found guilty of a heinous crime (see rule No1) and was made to wear a Thornensians shirt for the remainder of the evening. This had the same effect as Dracula and sunlight and he disappeared in a big puff of smoke, quite literally as he was smoking a cigar at the time!

Our first game was against The Hookers (well we were in Holland). We set off in plenty time as Dave had decided to take 3 hours to travel the 20 miles or so to the Hoek van Holland (translated as the Hook of Holland for those who can’t speak Dutch). We arrived there in plenty of time and after visiting 2 other sports grounds, we eventually found their ground an hour before kick off.

The game was played at a frantic pace as both sides were quite evenly matched. Doncaster eventually won 26-16. Two noticeable highlights of the game were Stevie Kirkbride getting tackled by a girl and Declan “It was Shane Hill’s fault” Cook’s delicate chip back towards his line to nearly set up a try for the opposition. Both players were suitably punished at that evening’s court.

After the game, entertainment included a number of party games and the Dad’s won. We knew the rules and we cheated. Job done!

After saying our goodbyes to the players, coaches and parents, we headed off back to the camp for an evening in Amsterdam. For any mothers reading this article, the trip to the Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank’s house were both very educational and the boys saw a number of framed portraits that will stay with them for a while. For anybody else reading this: see rule number 1.

When we returned to the camp, the parent’s celebrated Mr Cook’s 45th birthday at the Irish Bar (Shamrocks and Dutch techno music!) and the boys played in the big sandpit at the park. I am assured we all went to bed at a reasonable hour (as I am Mr Cook) to prepare for Sunday’s game.

Our second game was against Amstelveen, a small suburb of Amsterdam. No hangovers were reported and the parents were all in one piece as well. On a very damp day, the game unfortunately was slightly one sided with Doncaster winning 74-5. Amstelveen never gave up and were rewarded with an excellent try late in the game. We were again well looked after and shared in some after match entertainment before heading back to the camp for our final night.

Up at 6.00am on Monday and back to Castle Park by 10.30pm. 16 and half hours on a bus with one toilet, enough said.

Tours are all about friendship. You develop a closeness with your team mates that lasts a life time. We took a squad of players and returned with a close knit group that will always look out for each other. This has been evident in the 2 games we have played this season. However tours do not just happen. They need people to take time out of their busy schedules and who are not prepared to let other people down.

A number of our group need a special mention: The squad who made the tour so enjoyable. Mick “Master of Ceremonies” Lowcock who organised the tour, Matt “Toad of Toad Hall” Bedford for organising the bag packing and of course our many sponsors.

Italy 2009 here we come!!

Michael Cook