During the October break, Senior Years pupils embarked on a rugby and hockey tour to Barcelona. Freddie T and Freya H addressed pupils with an entertaining account of the trip during Senior School assembly in November. Read on to find out about their adventure…
While it is somewhat of a spoiler, we brought back no wins. However, we wish to highlight the fact that despite the score line, the week was about so much more than that.
After months of anticipation, weeks of guessing the hidden identity of “the judge”, and one final meeting with Mr Brims to collect our kit, 76 members of Senior V and Senior VI and eight members of staff were all set for the 2022 Tour to Barcelona… Well, that is, except Sofia L, who, despite being reminded the Thursday before we left, somehow managed to forget her hockey stick, only discovering so on arrival at Glasgow airport!
Once we had landed and got our bags, we were met by our two tour guides for the week: Victor with the boys, and Ester with the girls.
We were up bright and early on Monday morning, and after having breakfast, the boys and girls split up for their training sessions, before meeting up again at a local mall for a chance to go shopping and to have lunch. We then headed for the Nou Camp - the largest stadium in Europe, and the 4th largest in the world with a capacity of over 100,000 people.
Splitting up again, we went to our match venues with the 1st XI travelling to Castelldefels Hockey Club. After a tightly contested game, they were unfortunately defeated 2-1, with Lucy MacM scoring the goal and Freya was chosen as Player of the Match.
The boys faced the U18 Catalan National team, and despite our captain, Angus, levelling the score midway through the first half, a fresh 15 for the opposition in the second, led to us losing 38-7 with Iain McL winning Player of the Match. To lighten our mood on the bus home, Mr Brims very kindly gave us his rendition of ‘I Want it that Way’ by the Backstreet Boys.
Our second day began with a tour of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, where we learnt about the history of the buildings and the city itself. We then had free time which the girls used to visit a tourist attraction of considerable cultural importance: the four storey Zara.
After all that walking, the teams departed for their 2nd round of games. The boys played Sant Cugat Rugby club, and despite the poor quality of the pitch (which resulted in some nasty Astro burns), the boys put on an excellent display, with Iain scoring our only try right at the death to make the score 21-5, with Lewis H winning Man of the Match on this occasion.
The girls meanwhile travelled to Iluro Hockey Club. All 3 teams put in brilliant performances and the score lines did not reflect the quality of play nor the tenacity the girls showed during the match. The 1st XI lost 3-2, with Lauren A and Mairi MacP scoring the goals, and Emma D and Lucy MacM sharing Player of the Match. The 2nd XI lost 6-0, and the 3rd XI lost 2-0 with Eve McM being awarded Player of the Match for the 3rd XI and Sophie D for the 2nd XI.
Before long, day 3 was upon us and it was an early start for everyone. The girls went to play FC Barcelona Hockey where they fielded a combined 1st/2nd team, and a combined 2nd/3rd team. The 1st and 2nd team lost 3-2 with goals from Mairi and Lucy. Mairi was also awarded Player of the Match, and the 2nd and 3rd team lost 7-0 with Breige M winning Player of the Match.
The boys, meanwhile, played Unio Esportiva Santboina, the winners of last year’s Catalan League. It is not an overstatement to say that we were desperate to secure our first win of the tour! After a shaky start, we found ourselves dominating the opposition and this eventually came good as Iain burst through a hole, was tackled by the fullback and popped it to his nearest teammate, Alistair C, more formally known by every member on tour as ‘Father’, who touched down under the posts. We easily scored our five best tries of the tour, which I would love to elaborate on, however, we have been given a word count for this article! With 20 minutes to go, we thought we were going to clinch it, but tired legs and general fatigue (some boys had played over 100 minutes in 3 days) caught up with us and we eventually lost 43-29. While we were extremely disappointed, we knew this was by far the best performance of the tour – we could return home with our heads held high. Not according to our tour guide, Victor, though – he would not let us live down the fact we didn’t win a game the whole week.
The next day was spent at PortAventura World where we went on an array of rollercoasters. At this point, we must mention Rohan who was taken to the medical tent, and then the hospital, with a sore shoulder from the game the day before. Poor Madame Staber also required an injection after taking a turn on one of the rides. Rollercoasters and medical assistance aside, we had a great day and returned to our hotel for an even more eventful evening.
Firstly, our awards presentation. For the boys, Iain McL won the ‘Man of Steel’ award, for not only playing nearly 120 minutes of rugby in 3 days, but also for his attitude with and without the ball. Christopher H won ‘Tourist of the Tour’ for his enthusiasm on and off the pitch, and for helping Mr Brims translate his post-match speeches to the opposition. Mark H won ‘Player of the Tour’. He was excellent in attack and defence, making try saving tackles as well as scoring the Try of the Tour with a brilliant individual effort. For the girls, Mairi McP won ‘Tourist of the Tour’ for her great attitude towards everyone from Sunday to Friday, as well as scoring two goals and winning Player of the Match in one of the games. Finally, Freya, won ‘Player of the Tour’ for her outstanding performance levels no matter the opposition or the score line.
Then, it was time for the court session. The court, led by ‘the judge’, Mr Brims, allowed people to snitch on others – if the accusation was upheld, that team would lose points. First up: Jude, who was given a record 750 point fine, mainly for somehow forgetting his kit for one of the games, then the next day, giving his tie to Archie as he had forgotten his. We then had Tom and Madame Staber in for the same offence, Tom for shouting ‘Y Viva Espana’ in front of the Catalan National team, who want independence from Spain, but possibly worse, Madame Staber who had decided before we left Scotland to use that slogan to as the name for her team.
Then it was the girls’ turn… Tourist of the Tour, Mairi, repeatedly committed the very grave offence of wearing the wrong socks. She wore blue socks to the first game, while everyone wore white and then she appeared in white socks at the second game, where everyone else was wearing blue. In fairness to Mairi, if all the socks were red, as they were apparently meant to be, none of that would have happened.
After all the deductions had been made, Mrs McGlennon’s ‘Barça Babes’ were deservedly crowned the winning team on this year’s tour!
And so, our departure was upon us… We were up, bright and early, for our last day, and headed for the airport. After a lengthy check-in, many of us shattered from the night before, we eventually boarded our flight. Arriving on home soil, we boarded a bus in Edinburgh, arriving at Senior School to the warm welcome of our families and Mr McLaughlan. And so, that was it, we were home! After a tiring, but brilliant week away, it was all over in the blink of an eye. We would like to thank: Madame Staber, Mr Houston, Mrs Bellew, Mr Tait, Mrs Carlton, Mr Reid, Mrs McGlennon and Mr Brims for making it easily the best school trip any of us had ever been on.
To the next touring party: Senior III and IV, as well as Transitus, Senior I and II, when your time eventually comes, wherever it is you end up, we hope you have just as much fun as we did. Please remember:
- Get involved with rugby and hockey - even if you don’t think you will be the best, it doesn’t matter, it is about having fun.
- Be kind to new people joining the team - think about the first time you joined and how you felt. Make sure new recruits are welcomed and supported.
As Mr Brims quite rightly said ‘When is the next time you will get to play your favourite sport in another county with all your best mates - never!”