Match 4 - Yarm

By request, a photo of a super coach



Captain courageous



Man of the match, Big Joe G


The bitter taste of defeat makes the sweet taste of success that much better. The taste today - pure nectar. A win and a good win against Yarm, who have prevailed in both previous encounters saw a relieved and smiling touring party heading back to the school at Yarm for dinner. With wingers Ben Caleo and James Snell both out with shoulder injuries, and a cloud over pivot Joe G and captain Clayton the focus of the team at the morning practice was clearly evident, they knew they needed to win. That focus was taken into the game and for the first time on tour we started well, really ell. Maintaining possession and dominating territory we should have put points on the board well before the break. The first try on the half time whistle by one of the outstanding backs, big Joe, saw us turn with a 7 - 0 advantage. Torrid tight exchanges with players flying in with little regard for their bodies and bone tingling tackling were the order of the second half. A great 2nd 5 pointer by our Man of the Match, Joe G, saw the lead increased before it was pegged back by Yarm to 14 - 7, a tense final quarter was on the cards. The match was fittingly sealed on the final whistle by Richard Askern. A great end to the rugby on tour.
Our relationship with Yarm is really developing into something special, something to maintain and cherish. Now that the tally is at 1 - 2 (in their favour), in the last three years we think they owe it to us to tour next year.

On the bus

Entering Uppingham School



A group in the grounds of this special school


A long day after a painful defeat!
We fare-welled our KES host, good hosts just not so charitable on the pitch.
After playing Uppingham in Townsville just prior to our departure for Europe, we had organised to visit them for lunch today. A good decision. Uppingham is ranked amongst the very best of British schools and it is not difficult to see why. Jaw dropping facilities and amazing decentralized campus and some of the nicest and most hospitable people imaginable, this is a school to foster relationships with.
Onward and upward to our friends at Yarm and the last game of the tour lies ahead, the word is that they have a very good side, no slow starts this time if we hope to prevail.

Match 3 - KES

Our Man of the Match, Lucas kicking for territory.



Sam BT on the charge, hurdling Chris P



Dinner in the classroom of the bard.


Ouch, that hurt. A loss that we did not need. Deja vu, 2 years ago on the very same field we played a very poor first half, came back in the second, but lost. Down 14-0 after two silly costly errors in the first ten minutes it was going to be difficult to come back, and we didn't. The half time score of 26 - 5, although not a true reflection of our play ensured that if we were to turn thing around we would have to have a cracker of a second half. With both coaches pulling their hair out and one about to do a 'hat dance' the second half saw a very different and more focused team take to the field. Winning the second half 19 - 6 allayed some of the angst but it was not enough to redress the poor play early on. The final minutes were tense with TGS clawing back into the game, unfortunately too little to late and the game was lost 33 - 24. A game we could have won, should have won but did not. A number of players played excellent games with all the tries being scored by our backs. Josh claimed our first try and Callum, Chris and Man of the Match, Lucas Brown scoring the others. Sat converted 2 of the 4 tries.
Dinner afterwards in the room purported to be the one Shakespeare studied was a certain tour highlight.

R 'n R

A few of the boys at Warwick castle.



Edan & Netani with Netani Talei the 8th man for the Worcester Warriors after the game

A great day in Warwickshire and Worcestershire. A enjoyable visit to the castle where the touring party had the opportunity of seeing exhibits from the life of the royalty of from around Shakespeare's time and later in a castle which was built in the 9th and tenth centuries. A short bus ride to the next county to watch a Guinness Premiership match between the Worcester Warriors and the Sale Sharks was made a little more interesting due to Netani knowing one of the Warriors. Tomorrow is our third match, a 'must win' against KES. The task that bit harder with a reduced squad. Ben Caleo is still out with his shoulder injury, Joe's knee has not recovered enough as yet and young Crispy has a dose of the flu. The boys will be pumped and Sat has earned our support as the stand in pivot.

Off to Stratford, via Oxford.

Don Markwell chatting to our boys at Rhodes House.



We said goodbye to our fine hosts at Queens and headed to Oxford. A slightly delayed departure and traffic meant that our time in Oxford was unfortunately a little curtailed. Notheless a walk to Rhodes House to see an exhibition featuring George Hall was not in vein despite the exhibition not being on. The current Rhodes House warder Don Markwell (from Quilpie) chatted to the boys briefly before we headed back to town and our bus via the obligitory food court. The boys were taken aback when they saw the memorial to Chester Parker, the schools other Rhodes Scholar who lost his life in WW1.

Bath, a trip back in time.

The Grammar Dragons point to their hero.



The Rec - home to the Bath Rugby Club



The beautiful city of Bath.




Outside the stunning Queens College prior to our departure for Bath.


A rest day. A day for tired and sore bodies to heal and a visit to the ancient Roman city of Bath. Bath has been a favourite stop off on a number of recent Grammar tours, and although we did not spend enough time in Bath on this trip it will always be remembered as a highlight by both boys and staff.

Match 2 - Queens College Taunton

Lucas on the charge, those red boots at their dancing best.



Sat had a good game and a great second half.



Lineout time, we are ready, are you?



Tight stuff, with all reserves ready and willing in the background.


A copybook ruck, clean, fast possession.


The most hospitable of hosts. Could not do enough for us, except that they kept sending us up and down the hill (a ploy methinks). The attitude at preparation was not all it should have been, the focus shown prior to the Kings game seemed to have gone AWOL. Unfortunately Ben Caleo had to withdraw prior to kick off with a re-occurrence of his shoulder injury, but with 25 fit players it was time to play.
A first half that saw preparation attitude continue. Turning at 10 - 10, with Netani scoring a peach of a try off a set move. The 'rev that had to happen, happened', Coach Gilmore laid down his law and a different attitude prevailed in the second half. The well drilled Queens College side maintained and recycled possession at will and at one stage managed 17 phases on the trot. With minimal possession we had to use what we had well and we did. A couple of flashes of magic from Edan saw us score two exciting tries, one by Edan himself and the other by stand in fly half Sat Winston. Joe G and eventual Man of the Match, Mark Crisp, had left the field with injuries but their replacements stepped up and the squad was really happy to keep a clean sheet in the second half to run out deserved 22- 10 winners.

Stonehenge, and beyond

Mr Wilson being terrorized - again.



Russell - a wombats eye view of Stonehenge.



Mr Pearson, Russell & Sam (in the Tour Idiot Jacket).




An early bus boarding, headed for Taunton and old foe Queens College. An easy hop to Stonehenge and the unique experience offered by this mysterious feature of the English South-West. The boys were in awe and soaked in the atmosphere. Russell enjoyed the time off the bus in the fresh air of a typical grey English day, especially given that his fur protected him from the 'lazy' wind that blows across this exposed swail. A short hop to meet our hosts at Queens and a very valuable goal setting session before dispersal.

Match 1 - The Kings School, Canterbury

Joe, distributing.



A devistating forward charge.



Liam, a frightening sight.




We were at the top of our game. We saw what we shall saw. We played what was front of us and we never lay down! Playing a well drilled home side containing two current England age group representatives (fly half and outside centre). The team played some of the very best rugby they have played all year to trail by 6-10 at half time and were certainly in the game. Changing ends and having to run up hill (yes uphill) and into the wind sapped our defense and two late tries blew the score out to a margin that was not reflective of the closeness of the game. Netani and Joe were outstanding in a team that to a man lifted their game to a new level. Apart from two injured players (Goose and Lachlan Lynch) the whole squad got a run. The evening function really cemented some of the very special attributes of rugby tours in the minds of the staff. Seeing the two teams, after a very ‘willing encounter’ sharing a meal and a story spoke volumes of the special nature of this game we all love. Tomorrow it is off to Taunton to play Queens College, a school we last played five years ago. On the way Russell will get to visit Stonehenge.

Canterbury - Kent

Preperation on Birley's Field.



Ruins of the Old Abby with the Cathedral in the backgrond.

A jog (and a few cobweb releasing sprints) to start the day in Kemmel before a bus trip back to Calais to catch the ferry across the English Channel was uneventful until we lost one of the tour party at customs! Chris (Caleo) managed to hitch a ride with some passing Poms and rejoined us prior to boarding the ‘Pride of Canterbury’. Kings School Canterbury is amazing, founded in 0597AD the School is integrated into the same precinct as the Cathedral surrounded by well preserved ancient buildings as well as medieval ruins. The oldest School in England! An afternoon practice on the magnificent Birley’s Field before our boys retired to various boarding houses with their hosts. Game one awaits, against a school with a great reputation who currently have their best team in decades. We will need to be at the top of our game, but the boys are primed and ready. We shall see what we shall see. We shall play what is in front of us and we shall never lie down!

Ypres

Four Boarders from Bowen at the Menin Gate, indicating the name of Andrew Cameron Kneath, a boarder from Bowen who was killed in action in 1916




An early morning jog to start the day before a full day of WW1 history per kind (and by the end of the day, painful) favour of Stevo, really brought the enormity of the human devastation that resulted from the Great War. Traveling through France and into Belgium we visited Grammar War graves at Villers Bretonneux and a number on WW1 cemeteries along the way. Co-incidentally we encountered the Flemish archeologist who discovered the five most recent Australian soldiers are now interned at the Lone Tree Cemetery. The evening Last Post ceremony at Ypres was really moving as was discovery the names of two ex boarders whose names were amoungst the 62000 remembered on the Menin Gate.

The Somme

Mr Zietsch conducts a short but very moving ceremony at the Australian War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux.

Friday morning an early breakfast and then a whistle stop tour of Paris. The ’boys from the bush’ were blown away by the pace of Paris, the lack of personal space on the Metro and the size and sights of one of the classic cities of the world. Our Tour mascot Russell the Wombat visited some of the great tourist attractions of the world before getting lost with the rest of the party, almost catching the wrong train to the wrong place. After a hectic morning in Paris, it was onto our coach and off to the Somme. An unfortunate delay in Albert saw some of our plans curtailed. A quick visit to some of the WW1 war graves sights to visit the graves and memorials of ex-Grammarians ended with a lovely ceremony at the memorial to Captain CM Johnson, a scholarship boarder from Homestead (1906-1908), killed in action at Guedecourt in November 1916. Dinner was ‘beefsteak’ in the town of Albert. Clayton recons that the beef “came from a thousand different cows".

Well, it is Sunday. We have been away for a while. It seems as if most of the time has been flying. The bedraggled tour party arrived in the capital of France late Thursday night and transferred to our hotel after 42 hours in transit.. The opportunity for a short stroll to ‘get the flight out of out bodies’ then onto bed. The staff took a Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and a walk to the see the Eiffel Tower at night.

In Albert

We are currently in Albert France visitng the Somme battlefields. We are leaving for England today. Large tour update coming tomorrow. (Joe G)

Tomorrow we leave!

The gear has arrived, it looks great.

Pre Tour

In a week we will be close to landing in Paris. Sure the tour party will be weary after the mamoth intercontinental flights, but they will be 'juiced' with the excitement of what lies ahead.
Paris, a tourist mecca. The Somme - real history. Then onto the UK.