Over the weekend of 9th and 10th April, 260 people from Rochford Hundred Minis including 87 players from our U12s team right down to the littlest U6s, travelled to Kessingland, Suffolk for our ‘Minis Movie Magic’ Tour. This was the culmination of many months of planning and sleepless nights for the tour organisers – the Under 12s coaches, Gary and Pete and their Team Manager, Lucy.

To mark their last ever tour as Minis, it was time for the U12s to celebrate all they had achieved over the years, possibly to seek a little revenge on the ‘Court’ night against those who had ‘got them’ on previous trips and to welcome many new families to touring the Rochford Hundred way.

We met at the bar on the Friday night for a few drinks and gave the new parents their tour virgin indicator – a Charlie Chaplin-style bowler hat to be worn all evening and all day Saturday, until their initiation.

Saturday morning training was held at a fantastic, wide, sandy beach in Kirkley, just up the road from the caravan park. Attention didn’t focus on technical training or drills; lots of kids were buried in the sand, matches of Parents vs. Kids took place (with much cheating going on), and age groups were paired off to play against each other for fun. The kids loved being tackled into the soft sand, much laughter could be heard and, although the rain restarted around lunchtime, it was hard to drag the kids off the beach.

Saturday afternoon was free-time and many took the opportunity to go swimming.

In the evening, our ‘Court’ turned out to be Oscar Night! We were welcomed onto the red carpet in our finest movie themed costumes and had our photos taken by the official photographer, Russell. We saw some fantastic outfits – everyone had made a great effort - and films such as Harry Potter, Batman, Star Wars, Toy Story, Minions, Chicago, Jaws, St Trinian’s, The Blues Brothers, Men in Black, Beetlejuice, Addams Family and Shrek were represented.

The evening was hosted by Pete and Gary and ably assisted by Lucy, and, as usual, silliness ensued. Parents and children from all age groups were nominated for various misdemeanours and had to take part in games to find the winner. Our tour virgins were initiated and, although some looked a little worried at the start, I think they were relieved and happy that their task was not too arduous.

Sunday was match day and, thankfully, the day dawned with sunshine and blue skies! We travelled to our fantastic hosts, Beccles RUFC.

The following match reports are from the team coaches.

Update from the Victorious U6s – Kevin Sams

The first time touring U6s quickly got into the rhythm of the game. This was the first time they had ever played another club, and as Beccles did not have their own U6 squad, they competed against players from the Beccles U7 team.

At 6-a-side Rochford used three rotating subs, which meant everyone was fresh for all three games. Although the teams seemed evenly matched in terms of size and speed, good skilful play from Rochford in off-loading quick passes when tagged, coupled with capturing lots of turnovers seemed to be deciding factors in all the games.

Three games played, three games won. Many congratulations, and a fantastic introduction to competition.

U7s – Danny Ryan

Our U7s turned up to Beccles RUFC, on a lovely bright sunny Sunday morning, ready for a great game of tag and that’s what they got. This is their first year of competition rugby and R100’s U7s have really developed over the course of the year and are now starting to play well as a team. They showed quick hands in their tagging and passed the ball cleanly. Although scores were not kept, our team seemed to have the run of the games and appeared to dash over the try-line more often than Beccles. Our opposition also played with great skill and their coaches should be rightly proud of them. The last game was a mix up of the teams which all the children enjoyed.

Tilly was awarded the trophy for most improved player on tour and the U7s were awarded the winner’s trophy. A big thank you to all the parents for bringing the children away and to the organisers for a great weekend.

A few words from U8s – Martin Leslie

The U8s came out on top against our hosts on Sunday. We took lots of tags and scored many tries and even got the better of a few turnovers, as well. This is one of our last tournaments of tag rugby before we start full contact next season. The coaches are extremely proud of this little squad, their efforts and hard work are starting to pay off and they are beginning to work more cohesively as a team.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Baden, Pat and Lee as they are a big part of the success of this U8s squad. Thank you to all the parents for making this tour an enjoyable memory.

Thank you to Gary, Pete and Lucy for organising the tour from all the U8s.

U9s – Stewart Aungier

Rochford 12 Beccles 6
Rochford 10 Beccles 6

This game marked Kyle's return after a 6-month layoff due to injury and he took no time at all in hitting his stride, scoring several tries and making some impressive tackles. Rochford surged into a commanding lead with some stunning team and individual tries. Beccles, to their credit, hung on and scored some great tries of their own but Rochford stayed strong in defence with some great tackles from the whole team. Ultimately our pace in attack proved too much for our hosts.

Over the two games Rochford scored an impressive 22 tries in an incredible display of teamwork with several members of the team putting in a season’s-best performance. Well done to Jack who was voted by the parents and players “Player of the Tour” after his 14 try romp.

I would like to thank all the parents for a great weekend and, also, for their support and commitment throughout the season. An even bigger thank you goes to the kids for turning up and giving their all each and every week.

U10s – Russell Coldwell

The U10’s received a very hospitable welcome from the hosts. However, from the first whistle it was obvious both teams were intent on playing some serious rugby with a real purpose. This made for three very close and entertaining matches, played end-to-end.
Excellent distribution of the ball saw most of the Rochford players get on the score sheet, particularly noteworthy were the efforts of Kiera out on the wing. It was a performance which saw her voted player of the tour.

Having won the first two matches, the previous late nights finally caught up with the players (and parents!) and Rochford found themselves pipped at the final whistle in the last game.

Thank you to the hosts and well done the U10s (Christian, George, Harri, Hayden, Jack, Keira, Luke & Scott).

Under 11s – Gavin Taylor

On the hazy Sunday morning after the night before, the U11s coaches, consisting of Captain America, Blofeld, Jerry Maguire and Riggs, boarded the bus to sunny Beccles only to find that they were missing all of their players. Fortunately, there were responsible adults on the preceding buses who had ensured their safe transportation to the match.

After a gentle but invigorating warm up, Rochford U11s took to the field against a Barbarians team made up of Beccles, Lowestoft and Crusaders. The opening exchanges were typically nervy but a fine team try finished and started by the War Machine set the tone for rest of the game. Led by tour captain Lenny the Legend, Rochford - frequently rotating the team - built through the phases finishing the game 5-0 winners. Some tidy finishing by Dash, Bolt and Forrest Gump, making the most of their wheels, ensured Rochford delivered on their desire to play tour rugby.

At the break, several of the team were temporarily felled by team mascot Bertie, notably Austin Powers and the already injured Bamm Bamm which they thoroughly enjoyed.

With the sun beaming down, Rochford U11s took the field for their 2nd match vs the Barbarians. Ronnie and Reggie Kray organized the team defensively whilst Brains orchestrated play from first receiver. Bond, James Bond harnessed his frustration at the refereeing decisions to power up the middle, followed by Mr Incredible who was always able to offload out of the tackle. Wreck-It Ralph lived up to his name and was almost unstoppable whilst Mr Freeze made the most of his pace aside from a fumble with the try line beckoning. Daffy made a nuisance of himself whenever he had the ball and Rochford ended up 10-0 winners.

Beccles were lovely hosts. The hot dogs were superb and rugby was the winner.

Roll on next year……

Under 12s – Gary Barber

This was a fantastic team effort by all 22 players who were on tour from U12's, with two pitches playing simultaneously and with all players playing against The Crusaders from Norwich and a Barbarian side from Beccles and Lowestoft & Yarmouth.
R100 took the first two games 17-2 and 12-0 (30 min game) and then swapped opponents and again won 7-1 and 6-0 (20 min game)

We witnessed some incredible results, with a total of 42 tries scored by 16 different players, with only 3 tries conceded.

There was some excellent rugby played and our well-trained teams were praised by our hosts, the most-hospitable Beccles RUFC.

With all age groups having won the winner’s trophy in our Tour Competition this clearly demonstrates that our Minis are proving difficult opponents to overcome.

Final words…

We’d like to thank the tour organisers for all their hard work, Park Resorts for letting us drink the place dry and Beccles RUFC for great hosting on the Sunday.

Most importantly, we’re sure all the players appreciate the support of the parents, other family members and friends who enthusiastically joined in all the fun and games.

There was a lot more that happened over the weekend but, of course, ‘what goes on tour, stays on tour’! If you want to find out what happens, you’ll have to join us next year!