Old Crescent RFC Under 12’s went to Treviso recently to compete in the 40th Citta Di Treviso Tournament, following in the foot steps of the current Old Crescent U14 team who attended in 2016.

96 teams competed at u12 level from all over Italy and we were in the first group with Benetton Treviso, Milan, Rome, Perugia, to name a few.  The rugby was at a very good standard and with a revised format where line outs and scrums were dropped, it took us a few games to get the hang of it.  Once we got going we played some exceptional rugby, running away with it on a number of occasions.

A tournament of this nature is ideal, as we got to play 11 ten minute matches in total over Saturday and Sunday, all our players were required and there was plenty of opportunity for players to shine.

Of course, they have the benefit of running a tournament in beautiful sunshine which made all the difference as our touring party unleashed our white bodies on the hosts.  The Italian teams arrive with Gazebos, food and wine for all and there is a real carnival atmosphere!

Our hosts gave us lunch on both days and on the Saturday night we stayed on in the Treviso club house to watch the ERC Final in a private room with as much soft drinks, pizza and beer as we could handle.

We stayed in Chalets in a campsite which was one of the highlights for the boys as they could use the pool, terrorise the lifeguards and join the campsite disco.  Baby steps into touring!

To add a bit of culture we visited Venice which was special for all of us, and on our way home through Stanstead we used the stop over to visit Cambridge and compare the Punting to the Gondolas.

Thank you to Shannon Group, Shields Dental, City Link, Keogh Ryan Tierney, Sherry Fitzgerald O’Malley and Siobhan O’Neill of Core Results For Life for their generous sponsorship and to our U12 parents who contributed also.  The parents and the boys represented the Club admirably.

The Old Crescent RFC U12 Tour is the end of Mini Rugby as the boys progress onto full pitch next year.  It was a fantastic way to mark the transition!