Portugal Rugby Tour

The U18 and U16 rugby sevens squads departed for Lisbon to take part in the International Junior Sevens tournament over half term.

It was fantastic to have the opportunity to take two strong teams on tour, where they were able to pit their skills against varied and high-quality international opposition.

Arriving in Lisbon in the midst of thunderstorms, our first training session at St. Julian's School was a little disrupted, but it proved useful preparation before the tournament got underway.

The U18s played their matches at the home of GD Direito, one of the top teams in the Portuguese league, and achieved notable victories against George Heriot's School and The British School Al Khubairat. In the final pool match they faced the impressive Iberian skillset of GD Direito, who moved the ball quickly and defended with great organisation. Second place in the pool, however, was a fantastic achievement and seeded the boys into the Gold Cup for the top eight teams.

With injuries to key players and facing some of the strongest sides in the competition, the second day proved very challenging. We played the eventual winners UR7s, as well as teams from Monaco and Valencia, a real panoply of European opposition. Even so, 8th place out of 24 teams was a superb achievement for this talented squad. The boys learned a huge amount from the experience and will no doubt return stronger for the sevens season ahead.

The U16s had a tough start to their tournament at the University of Lisbon, where they faced eventual winners UR7s. Although this initially dented their confidence, they developed well through the first day to finish second in their group, with wins over Belas RC and CF Os Belenenses Rugby. With pace across the side, the tournament allowed the U16s to find their rhythm as they began to slow their play when needed and inject speed at the right moments. Two more wins on the second day meant the boys finished with four victories from six matches, a superb return considering the strength of opposition.

A tour of Belém, a visit to Estádio da Luz (home of SL Benfica), and surfing lessons on the final day rounded off an excellent tour for the boys. It was a real pleasure to watch the squads develop over the weekend and build bonds that will carry them strongly into the final half term of the season.

Mr Chris Cook, Head of Rugby