TGS Rugby Tour: October 2012

Dunnottar Castle

Wednesday 3rd
Departed Gordonstoun for Aberdeen, via Dufftown, home of Glenfiddich Whisky. The group enjoyed a guided tour through the Glenfiddich distillery and gained an insight into the history of the whisky region.

Arrived at Aberdeen and traveled to the Robert Gordon College playing fields for a light training session before meeting billet families.

Thursday 4th

Scottish Piper walking both teams to the field

The group assembled at Robert Gordon College in the morning before meeting an 'Old Boy' from the School who, very kindly, gave us a 'locals' tour of Aberdeen. One of the more memorable stops was at Dunnottar Castle. This impressive castle ruin was built literally on a rocky outcrop with cliffs drops from all sides. The group walked around the castle and down to the waters edge below before returning to Robert Gordon College for lunch.

Early intensity in the match

The final game for the tour began with a Scottish piper marching both teams on to the field. A nice local crowd had assembled for the match, and they were rewarded for the loyalty early with a quick try almost directly from the kick off. The Grammar boys regained their composure and played competitively for the remainder of the first half. Robert Gordon College proved to be a very well drilled side and began the second half with great intensity. Grammar matched their intensity but unfortunately were not able to convert these efforts into points on a scoreboard. Robert Gordon College too strong at full time defeating Grammar 19-0.

A small presentation of 'thank-you's' were held to acknowledge the efforts from both teams and their coaching staff before the Grammar team went home with their billet families. This was effectively the final activity for the tour; the following morning the tour group will depart for Manchester Airport by bus before flying out to Dubai then on to Brisbane and finally landing in Townsville Sunday afternoon.

Kenway again preparing to deliver

Jonsson and Murdock wrap up

Kenway still delivering quality passes

RBC vs TGS scrum

Harry with time and touch

Grammar winning line-out

Robert Gordon College vs Townsville Grammar School

Big Bus Tour of London

Jake sizing up the guard

Friday 28th
The group began the day with a 'Big Bus Tour' of London, taking them past major tourist landmarks (Big Ben, London Eye, Tower bridge etc...) and most of the properties on a Monopoly playing board!

Everyone stepped off the bus to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. There were literally thousands of people surrounding the gates but our rugby boys put their game skills to good use and moved through the defense (crowd) with ease giving them a perfect view of the ceremony. The afternoon was spent shopping and sightseeing with many boys finding bargins at Lillywhites sports store.

Saturday 29th

Buckingham Palace

The final day in London began with a river cruise along the Thames river to Greenwich. On arrival, the group walked to the famous observatory where they synchronised their watches to GMT. In the afternoon many students visited another of London's popular attractions the 'London Dungeons' whilst others continued sightseeing around the city.

Sunday 30th
After checking out of the hotel, the group walked to Kings Cross station, home of 'Harry Potters Platform 9 3/4' to catch a train to Edinburgh. The train trip provided the group with magnificent views of the English countryside.

Landmarks of London

On arrival in Edinburgh, the group was taken for a bus tour around the city. Whilst the ancient buildings and Edinburgh Castle were impressive, it was Murrayfield Stadium, home of Scottish Rugby, that they couldn't pass without walking through the venue and taking some photographs. It is a Rugby tour after all!!

Monday 1st
Waking up in Edinburgh, the Scottish weather welcomed everyone with cold windy conditions to visit Edinburgh Castle. Then, just as our tour guide said 'at least its not raining'..... it started to drizzle! Still, the walk around Edinburgh Castle was well worth braving the cold for. After the tour, the group jumped onto the bus and made our way to Elgin, home of Gordonstoun School. The staff and students were extremely welcoming and immediately invited us to dinner in the boarding house dining rooms before being shown to our accommodation for the evening.

Greenwich Time Line

Tuesday 2nd
After breakfast, the group traveled to Findhorn, a nearby fishing town. The group walked along the rocky beaches and enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant before making their way back to Gordonstoun for the big match. Once school had finished for the day, both teams assembled on the main Rugby pitch surrounded by a gallery of staff and students who braved the wet conditions to watch the match.

The first half was hard fought with wet and cold conditions really taking TGS out of their comfort zone. However, our group held strong and produced some of the best performances our coaches have seen throughout the entire season. Grammar was able to strike the first blow on the scoreboard with some good wide passes, finishing with Clark Caleo in his return match after a major knee injury to score a try in the corner.

Zack on his way to Hogwarts (via Kings Cross station)

Gordonstoun rallied in the second half, moving the ball around and finding space to score a try early, leveling the scores. It was an intense battle from that point with both teams not willing to back down for a moment. Grammars consistently strong forward work created an opportunity for Jake Murdock to add to the scoreboard via a penalty kick, taking Grammar to 8-5 with 10min remaining. Sensing this was the time to stand strong with each other, the Grammar team held their positions perfectly and secured their first win for the tour.

After the match, Gordonstoun hosted a dinner function in our honour and Juhee Kong presented the Captain and Coach of Gordonstoun with gifts in appreciation for the hospitality they had shown us over the past two days.