Wigan U8 v Mold U8

Players: Patrick Hollins, Nathan, Patrick Tuilagi, Brandan, Levi, Francis
Weather: Heavy showers - always rains on a Sunday in Wales
Pitch: Massive

It was a rugby bonanza for the under 8s this weekend. They warmed up for their Welsh Tour with a leg stretch at Orrell on Saturday dinner time. The boys acted as a curtain raiser for a first team fixture later in the afternoon. On a crowded pitch they ran through some set plays for the next day. As in a Lions tour, they used this run out to iron out any gremlins. And there were quite a few. It was a scrappy performance with only a few glimmers of form. Connor acquitted himself well but succumbed to illness only hours later. Daniel played well, but might have had half an eye on his forthcoming trip to London's glittering West End.

Sunday was another matter. In the early hours of the morning the team boarded their executive standard coach and headed across the border to Wales. Few (none) had experience of international rugby but the excitement was palpable. The team of six players played four matches - three against Mold and one against a Welshpool team.

The first game saw an excellent performance from Wigan. In a tight encounter they showed great spirit and skill. Nathan fizzed over the line for a hat-trick and Brandan weighed in with two excellent scores. Patrick scored two well anticipated tries from short range and only a last ditch fumble denied him three. Some excellent defence from all of the team kept the score to a close 7-8 defeat.

The second game was less close but a good deal more fractious. A bad tempered affair was sparked into life by Patrick "short fuse" Hollins. You could have got very long odds on Patrick taking on the Gaz Hock role and putting in a high tackle but he released his inner beast and started to "put himself about". This seemed to lead the tip the scales in favour of Mold as Wigan lost their composure despite Patrick running in a long range try with his tags hidden under his knee length shirt! We were on the wrong end of a 8-2 score line.

The third game was more in our favour. The boys showed great resilience and energy to keep going and this was characterised by Patrick T and Francis who were excellent in their direct running and enthusiasm around the pitch. Indeed Patrick scored a couple of excellent tries which showed some very delicate footwork to compliment his powerful running. Nathan scorched the ground with four tries including one interception try that brought the crowd to its feet.

The boys begged Coach Butler to play a fourth game and he duly found one. A team from Welshpool (82 miles south of Wigan according to Google maps) proved spirited opponents. Indeed the opposition coach delivered his half time talk in Welsh - this reporter eavesdropped but could only make out the words "snooker" and "Internet".

The Welsh RFU stipulate that knock ons are penalised at u8 level and our referee followed this directive very very carefully. Textbook stuff. We introduced fresh legs in the shape of Tom, Sam and George from the under 7s and they all acquitted themselves brilliantly. Tom attacked with venom, George looked a constant threat and Sam streaked thrillingly down the touch line for two superb tries. The game finished 4-4 but we were denied (robbed of) a clear try when the ball was adjudged to have been dropped over the line.

The man of the match award was given to Brandan for his tireless running and boundless energy.

A superb day out for all was rounded off with the team performing a drinking game in the bar after the match ( again, what goes on tour stays on tour) and then singing songs on the back of the coach all the way home.

Everyone, players and parents alike had a brilliant time and a massive thank you must go to Lee and Stuart for organising everything.

Post match meal: pasta ( no chips - adjusting to foreign food is always a challenge on tour)