Adam Scott rugby team heads to Europe
High school boys’ team to visit and play in Paris, London and Cardiff, Wales
Adam Scott Lions rugby teams have toured the United Kingdom since the 1980s but are breaking new ground this year.
For the first time, the Lions boys’ rugby team will visit continental Europe with a trip to Paris in addition to London, England and Cardiff, Wales.
A group of 31 players and five staff left from the north-end school on Wednesday afternoon for what will be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for many.
“I don’t think a single tour of ours since
2000 has gone to Cardiff, Wales so that’s really exciting for all of us,” said Lions coach Sandy Keay.
“The boys’ team has never travelled to continental Europe. I was in France once with the girls’ team but this is new for the boys. We have a really strong contingent of French immersion students and we felt it was important we give some of these guys some French culture.”
They will visit Paris from Thursday to Saturday and will play against Club Sportif on Friday night. Highlights in Paris will be a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower and a tour of the Vimy Ridge Memorial.
On Easter Sunday they take the train to London for a day of visiting sites like Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge and others followed by a team dinner and a ride on the London Eye.
Monday morning they head to Wales via a stop in Bath to practice and take in the Roman Baths.
Once in Cardiff, they will spend four nights and have games against Llantwit Major on Tuesday and Rumney RFC on Thursday.
Highlights in Wales will be a tour of Principality Stadium (home of Welsh International rugby), Cardiff Castle and a day of outdoor rock climbing and rappelling at Cheddar Gorge.
They finish the tour in Swansea on April 5 as guests of The Ospreys professional team. They have a training session with their coaches followed by a player meet and greet, stadium tour and tickets to their match with Connacht of Ireland that evening.
They arrive home on April 7.
It’s a first tour for Grade 13 student Nick Wood.
“Winning OFSAA last year was huge for us and I’ll end (high school) with a nice tour,” said Wood.
“I’m looking forward to the brotherhood. Getting to know everyone even more and getting to that really tight-knit team. I’m really excited to go to little cafes and to just experience the culture. I’ve never been outside Ontario let alone the country.”
“I’m really looking forward to hanging out with the guys,” said Grade 10 student Brock Gillespie. “
It should be a lot of fun. We’re going to a few tour destinations and I’m looking forward to playing rugby with them. We’re going to the Arc de Triomphe and we just learned about that in history class so I’m excited to see that. As for the rugby aspect, we have three games overseas and I’m really excited about that.” Rugby is just one aspect of the tour.
“This goes back to the tours arranged by guys like Brian Greer who made sure it wasn’t just rugby,” said Keay. “It was historical. It was cultural. We try to provide a really well-rounded experience.”