Brian's Blog

BRIAN'S BLOG

Brian Yon and Sandy Donald are accompanying the Canada National Under 17 Men's team as adjunct coaches on the England Tour now underway. Yonner packed a pencil to keep a diary which, we hope, will be updated daily.

After all the rain yesterday it turned out to be a
nice sunny day. A little cool at 3C but warmer than
back home probably. We ended up winning 10-5 against
the Shelford U17's. We didn't play that well and it
was a game that had many whistles and not much flow.
The boys are banged up and are ready to come home. We
get up at 5:45am and head to Heathrow around 7:00pm.
Sandy and I get back into Winnipeg around 9:20pm
Manitoba time. It's been a wonderful experience and we
have certainly learned a lot. I personally think this
experience has helped us mature as coaches and
hopefully this will help young athletes back home
become better rugby players. Thanks to everyone who
has supported us on this trip. It's greatly
appreciated. I look forward to seeing everyone at the
banquet on Saturday. We'll see you soon.

Brian

We had most of the day off yesterday because the
kick-off wasn't till 7:00pm. We took advantage and
headed downtown and did some last minute shopping and
took in the sites. Cambridge is a neat town with a lot
of history behind it. We went to King's College and
the Cathedral. King's College was where the film
Chariot's of Fire was shot and the Cathedral which was
built in the 14 & 1500's was immense. The architecture
was incredible. When we got back to the Hostel it
really started to rain hard. It rained all the way up
to game time and the field conditions were horrible.
The coaches questioned whether the game should go
ahead and they decided that the game would be played.
It was a mud bowl!! u couldn't even see the players
numbers because they were covered from head to toe! We
wore our white jerseys of course! The boys went on to
win 17-5 against Cambridge U16's. We play today at
12:00pm and that will be the end of our tour. We get
up early tomorrow and head to Heathrow Airport to
catch our flight. I will send off one last e-mail
tonight.

Yonner

We headed off to Cheshunt R.U.F.C. yesterday as our
U16's had a game at 1:30pm. The clubhouse and grounds
were high up in the hills which gave quite a view
overlooking a massive valley. The boys played somewhat
average but still dominated as they went on to win
31-0. We had a quick meal back at the clubhouse and
then took the long journey to London where we were to
play Rosslyn Park R.U.F.C. It was rush hour traffic so
it took us twice as long to get there. (I could never
live in London!) The Clubhouse and grounds were
unbelievable. Everything over here with these clubs is
first rate. We took to the field and we were watching
Rosslyn Park warm-up and we knew we had our hands
full. Not to mention that some of their boys looked a
little older and bigger than 16 & 17 year olds. (Sandy
and I were suspicious right away) Rosslyn park came
out and scored a try in the first two minutes and we
knew we were in trouble. They went on to beat us
44-17. I give our boys credit. They never quit and
kept battling all the way. We were hosted afterwards
to a nice meal and they had Josh Lewsey there as a
special host. Josh currently plays Fullback/Wing for
England. (Sandy and I got a photo with him too.) We
then started to hear rumours that Rosslyn park used
some U19 and U20 players. Whether it's true or not,
they will have live with it. We headed home and went
straight to bed because it was 1:00am when we got
back. We train today and play one game Friday and one
Saturday then it's home.

Yonner
P.S. It actually didn't rain yesterday!

We travelled to London by train yesterday to take in
the sights and sounds of the west end. The team
members went their own ways for a couple of hours to
do some shopping and exploring. Sandy and I found a
couple of rugby shops with all sorts of goodies. It
wasn't all that cheap but we managed to do some
spending. We then headed to an Irish pub with the rest
of the coaching staff to have lunch. The meal was
excellent. After lunch we headed in different
directions again and as we were heading down the
street, Sandy and I spotted a rugby legend sitting
down having coffee in an outdoor cafe. It was Jason
Leonard! Now for those of you who don't know who Jason
Leonard is, he is the most capped player in England
history. He also played for the British/Irish Lions on
three separate tours. I told Sandy I was going to meet
him and I went over and introduced myself. He was very
nice and when he knew we were from Canada he engaged
in a good conversation with us. Sandy and I then got a
picture with him. He is a massive man!! It was a great
experience. We thanked him and then went on our way.
We hit up a few more stores and then caught the train
with the rest of the team back to Cambridge. We
finished the night by meeting as a coaching staff
reviewing game film and coming up with a practice plan
for today's training session. We play tomorrow against
a tough team. We will have to put one of our best
lineups together. I will update tomorrow.

Yonner

We played the Stortfordshire U17s yesterday and won a
thrilling game 19-18. The boys were really excited at
the end of the game because we were down 12-0 at one
point. Probably the best game we played yet. Showed a
lot of heart. We're heading into London today to do a
little sight seeing. Of course it's pouring rain. It's
been sunny for two days since we've been here and rain
the rest. I'm glad we have the day off because we have
quite a few bodies banged up. A good call by the
coaching staff. We'll train tomorrow and then play
Wednesday. The trip has been great and it's hard to
believe we'll be done soon. Cheers.

Yonner
P.S. Sandy was snoring up a storm last night! Kept me awake.

...it's a tradition at the Bishop's Stotford Club at
the end of the game to have a boat race . With Liquor
of course but the boys aren't allowed to drink so they
did it with grape juice. Our captain Lucas DeBeer took
on their chugging champion and they stood on chairs in
front of a big crowd inside the clubhouse and Lucas
slaughtered him. He certainly had a fine day on and
off the pitch. Cheers.

Sandy and I joined the rest of the Canadian
U17 Rugby Team and went to Twickenham Stadium yesterday to
take in the game between England and Argentina. I can
honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my
life. The stadium was electric with 80,000 people!
When the teams came on to the field, the place erupted.
When they sang God Save the Queen I had chills running
down my back. I know there are a lot of friends back
home who aren't English supporters but they would
agree if they were there that it was quite the
experience. (Sandy and I were cheering for Argentina)
The stadium is massive and I would easily say that
experiencing an International Rugby Game of that
stature blows away any professional North American
game I have ever been to and I have been to quite a
few. Argentina went on to beat England 25-18. As for
today, we play two games against Stortford at 2:00pm
and training tomorrow. Cheers

Yonner

On Thursday we had a long 5 hour training session and
the boys were ready for a good rest. The coaches went
out for a few sociables that night and then bedded
down to get ready for Friday's competitions.
On Friday we headed to the Hertfordshire Rugby
Club to play two competitions. The clubhouse and
fields were unbelievable. You really get an idea of
how much they enjoy the game over here. Club members
are dressed up in their suit jackets and all the
players are wearing their number ones. Truly
professional. We won the first match 19-0 and then we
lost the second game 16-13. The referee was
inconsistent in his calls which really cost us but
then again the players have to play through it. So our
record stands at 3-1 and we are heading off to
Twickenham Stadium to day to watch England vs
Argentina. It should be a great experience. Tomorrow
we play Stortford U16s and U17s with Monday being a
training day. I hope everyone back home is well and
we'll see you very soon. The tour is really flying
bye!!

Yonner

Greetings from Cambridge,
We had a good start to the
morning with a good English breakfast. We then
proceeded to the Shelford Rugby Club. A first rate
rugby club with a fantastic clubhouse and atmosphere.
We played the Shelford U19's at 2:00pm (England time)
and shelled them 69-0. The second game which kicked
off at 7:00pm was against the U16 Shelford Club team.
It was a physical game with our boys coming out on top
29-12. The Shelford club then hosted us for a hot
dinner with a couple of beers (for the coaching staff
only) in their clubhouse. Bedding down for the night
with a day of training tomorrow.

Yonner

We made it into London at 6:25am (England time) which
was 12:25am (Manitoba time) Tuesday morning. We went
through customs quickly but ran into unbelievable rush
hour traffic. It took us 2.5 hours to get to Cambridge
which would normally take 1 hour and 15 minutes to get
there. The culture is quite different. Everybody is in
a rush and everybody drives a small compact car or a
bicycle. We had a short run to get the jet lag out and
will hold our jersey presentation tonight announcing
our starting lineup for tomorrow's games. Sandy and I
have learned a lot and are looking forward to
tomorrow's competitions. We will try to send an e-mail
each night if we can. Long live the Barbs!

Just dropping a quick note to let you know that
Sandy and I made it alright. The first day of training
was very productive. A lot of good young talent here.
Canada will be well represented. Sandy and I are
staying with a rugby couple who are members of the
Oakville Crusaders. The Crusaders are the largest
rugby club in Canada. They have a nice clubhouse but
our fields are better! We train again tomorrow and
then a light run in the morning on Monday and then
catch our flight to England Monday night.