Day 3

We drove in to Newport for a short stop to see the town. We parked by the bus station, fortunately, which happened be right next to the new suspension bridge that took you to the Newport RFC stadium (unknown by the group at the time). I ask a local with an WRU hoody where it may be - he turned and pointed, "right there over that bridge and behind that wall". The boys and coaches went with me. The rest - not. We got to the stadium, looked around a bit, and I ran into the Educational Director for Newport. He offered us a private tour of the clubhouse and trophy room. The history and stories were great. The kids were amazed to be there and all of them have a new respect for the level of hospitality that exists in the rugby world.

We left and spent the day in Abergavenny shopping, pubbing, etc. We met the coaches and players prior to warming up and then hit the ground for the match. We started off very hesitent in our play and Abergavenny quickly went up two tries to nil (10 - 0). By the half, the boys realized that our opponents were human too, just much crisper and faster. By the end of the half, we had pressed the try line twice and stopped some additional attempts to score, though they did put two more in (24 - 0).

By the start of the second half, our boys were pumped. We played harder, hit harder, and pressed harder. We punched one in from the 5M line off of a penalty but the smarter Abergavenny team got their hands under the ball before the ref saw the try. 10 mins later, Max Narewski drop-kicked one dead center through the uprights from at least 35M out! The sidelines were shocked. Even some of the locals were impressed. 5 minutes later, he punched one in and converted. The match ended 34 - 10 and the boys were much happier in the end.

The party with the Abergavenny team and coaches was a blast and the boys learned even more about sportsmanship and hospitality. The ride home was electric. Thanks to Rob and Huw for the game, fun and tour of the trophy room. The Abergavenny town and club history is a MUST to rugby players!