U16s Girls tour to Holland,

We met up at 5 am on Friday the 14th of February at the Rugby Club and jumped onto our coach to set off for Dover. As expected there was much excitement about the trip. We arrived in Dover and after a short wait, we boarded our ferry to Dunkirk. The sun was glaring off the white cliff of Dover as we set off. We handed all the girls and parents their tour gifts of orange sunglasses and necklaces and the tour was officially underway. We had a long drive ahead of us. Once we landed in France, the traffic wasn't great at times and this extended the journey but luckily the girl's 9hr plus playlist kept spirits high! We went through France, Belgium and into Holland and we arrived at Centre Parc! We then checked in and met up for a meal and a few drinks.

Sat am was free time until 1 pm so the girls hit the pool and the rapids and participated in their line-out move in the pool and wrestling in the rapids whilst some parents enjoyed their beds or a walk. We all met up and set off to RC Bulldogs Rugby in Almere just outside of Amsterdam. We were playing a mixture of local girls who play a part in the Dutch Girls Academy. We realised it was going to be a tough day when the Dutch captain was around 6ft tall! The game was full on with many of our girls playing out of position. The real positive was the fact that the Bracknell girls never gave up and kept fighting to the very last play which showed a real team spirit and fight despite a heavy loss. We came very close to scoring on a few occasions but the Dutch girl's defence was relentless. After match awards went to Imogen as the player's player and Madi as the coach's player.

The Girls from both teams enjoyed socialising and doing tiktoks together and a tour court was held for all those naughty parents. The Bulldogs Rugby Club were a fantastic host and got fully involved which was fantastic. We all left with smiles on our faces and had a great sing-along on the coach back to the park! Once back it was time for some more social time.

Sunday's plan was to take a trip to Amsterdam as we had a canal boat trip booked and then some free time to do our own thing and avoid getting run over by the bikes. All went well and then back on the coach. The girls were keen to get back and have another swim, whilst the parents rehydrated after a long day. Pizza ordered and then it was some more social time.

Monday's plan was to get home asap and we were coming back via the Euro tunnel to help speed up the return journey. The traffic was kind and we made it back in good time.

The weather was great all weekend and the girls and the parents all had a fantastic time and will have lifelong memories from the trip.

A massive shout out to Duncan for pulling the tour together, Fox Sports Travel for a great tour, the tour fundraising committee, the parents and girls for supporting the tour, and finally the friends and families for your support.

This is why we love Rugby and its values.

Dutch girls facebook post

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Hr2kQwjSN/