End of Tour awards

Players player - Harry May

Coaches 1st player - Harry May

Coaches 2nd player - James Owen

1st team forward - Harry May

1st team back - James Nicholl

1st most improved -Max Hodkinson

2nd team forward - Marcus Millen

2nd team back - James Owen

2nd most improved - Murtaza Zaki

Top try scorer - Pennie/Downing

Tourists - Hutchinson/Morris

Niagara Falls

The boys have spent the morning visiting Niagara Falls. 

We head to the airport this afternoon. 

Canada's Wonderland

Friday was spent at Canada's  Wonderland which contains a theme park and a water park. The boys spent the full day at the park which was just what they needed as they had played 3 games in 6 days. 

The boys will visit Niagra Falls this morning before going to the airport for their 6.40pm flight back home to Manchester. 

All the boys are in good spirits and looking forward to visiting Niagra Falls today. 

Sorry I can not upload more pictures from yesterday due to Wifi connection. 

Toronto

The boys enjoyed a morning of sightseeing and a trip up the CN Tower to look over the city of a Toronto this morning. 

Following that we attended the Toronto Bluejays v Boston Red Sox baseball game. 

2nd XV v Ontario Province U17

This proved to be one game too many for the 2nd team due to injuries to Milen, Knight and Gilby they also lost Cope to 1st team. Unfortunately the unbeaten tour run came to an end in the final game losing 12-21 but they team have to take huge heart from their performance. 

Pennie and Gascoigne managed to score 2 tries in 1st half to led 12-7 at half time. But unfortunately aren't the opposition had a full 15 men on the bench and the boys could not hold them out in the 2nd half. 

In the forwards Downing once again led from the front and was backed up excellently by Pearson and Behl in the front row. Zaki and Pennie had strong games from the 2nd row. The make-shift backrow of Hanlon, Hanson and Birchall worked well together and battled all game. 

In the backs Owen continues to impress as does Doyle and Lea who began to carry the ball with purpose. Gascoigne, Parslew and Neale all well heavily involved in the game which was good to see. Paxton also had a creative game from scrum half. 

The boys will take a lot of pride from this tour with a 4-1 record. There has been dramatic development in individual and team performances this tour. 

1st XV v Ontario province U18

The 1st XV were not suprised to see that were about 1-2 stone lighter per man than their opponents who are regarded at the top rugby playing province in Canada. 

There was only one change to the team than in the previous game as Will Gilby failed a fitness test with a back strain and was replaced with the more than capable Tom Cope. 

The boys will rue missed chances as they  conceded a last minute converted try to lose 26-19. They had a chance to win the game themselves but a turn over in their opponents 22 led to a runaway try by the speedster on the wing. 

James Nicholl again got himself a brace of tries combining with Harrocks on both occasions. Max Hodkinson continues to show good development at 9 as does Rawsthorne at 15. Sutton and Jones both looked for work off their wings. Robins had a solid game at 10 and continues to develop his game management. 

In the forwards the front row of Gorman,Church (scored a try) and Hagerty all carried ball well in attack and were backed up excellently by May, Cope and Booth in the loose. John Thornhill and Conner Scrivens also produced good performances. 

The 1st team finish the tour 3-3 and have to be happy with the continuing progress in their development. They played the best province sides in Canada and pushed all of them close. A lot of things to work on back at home but the boys have really shown that they can cope with the physicality of larger sides. 

Arrived in Toronto

We set off from Seattle Airport at 11am this morning and have arrived safely in a Toronto at 7pm. 

The boys are just having dinner this evening and an early night in preparation for the games tomorrow evening. 

The boys also have a full day of activities, enjoying Toronto in the morning then attending the Toronto Bluejays baseball game in the afternoon. 

2nd XV v Eastside Lions

The 2nds continued their u beaten run with a dominant 60-7 victory against Eastside U17. 

Try scorers:-

Pennie 4

Hanlon 2

Downing 2

Paxton 

Cope

In the forwards Dave "grandad" Pennie was a real force scoring 4 tries in 50 minutes before being subbed off. Sam Downing scored another 2 tries to continue to be leading try scorer of the tour with 6. Cope, Millen and Hanlon were full of running all game from the backrow. 

In the backs Paxton and Owen controlled the game from the 9 & 10 and had plenty of runners looking for the ball. A special mention must go to Jack Birchall who played half the game on the wing and half the game in the backrow and having a really good game in both positions. 

1st XV v Eastside Lions

The 1st XV once again came up against a much larger Ubder 19 side. But they have now got to grips with the physicality and came out 31-7 winners. 

Triy scorers:-

Nicholl 2

Harrocks

Booth

Jones

The forwards were led excellently by Will Church who had a great game in the scrum and in the loose. The year 11 boys once again showed their class with Millen, Cope and Scrivens all having good games. The best of the bunch was once again Harry May who dominated the lineout and was a leech on the ball in the breakdown. 

In the backs Nicholl was aggressive in both attack and defence and combined well with Harrocks all afternoon. Max Hodkinson started at 9 and had a really good debut game and will only get better with more experience. 

2nd XV v Chuckanut U17

The 2nd team continued to be undefeated winning 43-10 in a game which they dominated start to finish. 

Tries scored by:-

Downing 2

Birchall

Millen

Cope

Gascogne 2

In the forwards Luke Pearson was once again named forward of the game. He has really impressed coaches with his physicality and is continuing to learn the game at a fast rate. He is certainly challenging the front row players in the 1st team. It was good to see Tom Cope return from injury and he had an excellent game along with Marcus Millen in the back row. 

In the backs James Owen controlled the game excellently and was able to get the team moving forward in attack and holding a firm line in defence. Sam Gasoigne had a great game at full-back scoring 2 tries and was well supported by Birchall and Doyle in attack. 

Some of the boys are starting to challenge for 1st team places in the next game and this healthy competition will help to drive performances in both teams. 

1st XV v Chuckanut U19

The 1st XV played their most physical game of the tour this far against Chuvkanut  RFC Under 19 just over the American border. The boys battled to a deserved 39-21 victory scoring 7 tries. 

Try scorers :-

Robins

Sutton

Jones 2

Booth

Thornhill

Nicholl

Merchants dominated possession throughout the game and if they were more clinical then they could of scored another 5 tries. The boys managed to cope with the physicality of the other team who were a year or 2 older and this will stand them in good sted come Sept. 

In the backs James Robins was excellent in both attack and defence and led the team excellently. He was awarded back of the game and showed his commitment in the last play of the game sprinting 50m to catch a winger to ensure the team didn't concede another try. Charlie Harrocks looked very comfortable at 13 as did Matthew Surton at full-back. It was also good to see Lewis Jones grab a couple of tries as he continues his development on the wing. 

In the forwards Harry May was awarded forward of the game and man of the match. He continues to excel in every game and is cementing his place in the team. John Thornhill returned to the side and had a really energetic game around the park. Patrick Hagerty had a great performance in the tight and in the loose and is starting to reach the levels of performance we have come to expect off him. 

The boys will take a lot of confidence from this game and are starting to become more accurate both in attack and defence. 

Vancouver Birthday

The boys organised a suprise early birthday gift for Mr McKie.