Ashbury College

Overall, each and every single one of the girls, I know, had an absolutely amazing time on the trip and I am so happy to be a part of their experience. They visited a number of sensational sights in each of the cities we stayed in, but what I feel makes the trip even better, was that they also got a chance to explore the cities in their own free time, meaning they were able to gain as much as they wanted from the trip. The girls were a fantastic group, and I hope they take a lot from this adventure!

Another day in Barcelona! We awoke this morning to the gorgeous sunshine beating down – and this was only at 9am! The plan for today was to chill-out and go to the beach in the morning, have lunch, and then venture into the city one very last time. We had lunch at the hotel at around 1:30pm, as the coach was picking the girls up at 2pm. When the girls arrived in Barcelona, you’ll never guess what the main thing was that they did...You may be thinking ‘Oh no, they couldn’t possibly have gone shopping again!’ But you would be wrong. These girls are machines when it comes to shopping! As the coach was picking the girls up at 8pm, they had time to have sit-down meals at restaurants before returning to the hotel. As the saying goes, ‘When in Rome...’ therefore many of the girls had the local cuisine of Spain, named ‘Tapas.’ On returning to the hotel, the girls wanted to show each other the clothes they had purchased, and what easier way to do this than to hold a fashion show! We selected one of the corridors in the hotel, the girls provided the music, and Anita was the announcer. This was a great way to end the evening as the girls are all in high spirits as they return to their rooms to pack for tomorrows departure. Let’s hope the girls stick with what they have said today about this trip...’Wouldn’t change a thing.’

Today, the girls got their first daylight glimpses of the fsbulous city that is Barcelona. We set off on our guided site-seeing tour at 9am after breakfast, and I think that most of the girls would agree with me when I say that the tour was amazing. The guide was very helpful, informing us of pretty much everything we drove by, and we had several stop-offs in which the girls had chance to soak up the wonderful Spanish atmosphere. Our first stop was at the unfinished church of the Holy Family (Sagrada Familia) – this church began construction in 1882 and will not be finished until 2050! With the sun shining down on all the intimately crafted sculptures and towers, the church was truly something special and I don’t think the girls will be forgetting this in a long time. After this, we drove down Barcelona’s most prestigious streets, named ‘Barcil de Gracia. On this street we saw shops such as Escada, Chanel, Armani and many more top designers. Our second short stop was at the ‘area of exhibition.’ This street consists of a huge museum, full of Spanish-Catalan art, an exhibition palace and two stunning towers. Then it was on to the Olympic Stadium that was built for hosting the 1992 Olympics. We were able to go inside and take a look at the stadium, which many of the girls enjoyed thoroughly. Our last stop, I have to say, had to be the best. We drove up the Mountain Montjuich, and the views of the city from the top were breathtaking. Here we also found beautful waterfalls and fountains, as well as views of the ocean. We were then dropped off in central Barcelona to give us a few hours to explore the city at our own pace. Of course, most of the girls went shopping! But many also ventured down the most famous street in Barcelona, Ramblas. This street was jam-packed with people enjoying the city just as much as we were, and also contained small market stalls selling all sorts of things, from flowers to live birds! We arrived back at the hotel in time for the girls to relax before we had dinner. Some girls went to check out the beach in order to find the perfect spots for when we go tomorrow. This evening, as the girls are tired from the long day, will be a nice, chilled out one, before we go again into the city tomorrow afternoon.

Breakfast was early this morning so we could have plenty of time to have a look around the city of Cork. Blarney Castle was our first stop, and because we arrived quite early, the attraction wasn’t too busy, meaning the girls could explore at their own pace. The main thing to do at Blarney Castle is, of course, to kiss the Blarney Stone, which is situated at the very top. After the steep climb, the girls waited their turn, before they sat and leant back (with the help of a guide), in order to kiss the stone. In myth, kissing the Blarney Stone is meant to give’ the gift of the gab’ – not that many of the girls need this! It was then time for the girls to get their last chance to shop in Ireland.



The city of Cork was very well liked by the girls, however as it was a Sunday, not many of the shops were open so parents will be pleased to know that not too much money was spent! Next stop, Cork airport. We checked in with no problems at all, and the flight was only delayed by about 30 minutes, meaning we were all good to go at 5:45pm. As Spain are an hour in front time-wise than Ireland, we arrived in Barcelona at 8:45pm local time. The hour-long coach journey to the Hotel Savoy meant the girls could get a bit of rest before we tucked into a banquet in the hotel restaurant. The girls are currently in their rooms unpacking and getting settled in. We’re hoping for some beautiful weather for tomorrow to make our guided site-seeing tour of Barcelona a great experience!

Another great day for the girls. We had brunch at 10:30 and then it was onto the coach for the short journey to Fermoy for the girls’ last game of the trip. This team seemed to be very set on changing peoples’ stereotypes about the sport of Rugby (they even had a sign on their pitch stating ‘Girls play rugby too!’). We received a warm welcome by this particular club and the girls felt very much at home there.

This post-match report is a joint effort by Laurie Biewald and Maggie Cogger-Orr:

‘All the girls were very excited for our last game in Ireland. We got an historic first match ever for the other side. The game began wih lots of forward ball, resulting in a try by Maggie Cogger-Orr. Eventually, the backs started to increase their involvement in the game, ending with a try by Laurie Biewald who converted her own try. Second half brought in some fresh legs and energy, shown as Rachelle Bonneville who stole a lineout for a huge 45m run and a score, moving the game to 17-0. Many of the junior players were put in after the try and they all worked very hard defensively. They withheld Fermoy within our own 22m for an extended period of time, but eventually Fermoy scored and converted, making the score 17-7. All the graduating players were put on the field for the final 10 minutes, and fought until the last play. Overall, the experience was one that none of the girls (on either team) will ever forget. The game was a great way to end our time in Ireland as the opposition could not have been more appreciative or hospitable. We’re now off to watch Ireland in their Six Nations game, where they too could make history. A great rugby day overall!’

And win is exacly what Ireland did. The fact that all the girls were able to witness this historical event on the home ground of the Irish team was unreal! The atmosphere at the hotel was fantastic, putting the girls is very good moods as we made our way down to the beach for some presentations. Speeches were made by all the coaches on the trip, and special awards were presented to players; a tie from our first match against Enniskillen was given to Kat Elvidge for her amazing consistency throughout all her games, a ball from the Sports and Corporate company that organised the trip was given to Sonja Moroz for her outstanding performances during games, the practise ball from todays game against ‘Ferhaven’ was presented to Rachelle Bonneville for ‘Chick of the match’ today and her great performances throughout, and lastly, the plaque from ‘Ferhaven’ was given to Laurie Biewald for being the best all-rounder for a long time. The girls were so grateful for these gifts and all the remaining girls were very pleased for them (no doubt they too will be receiving gifts like these in their years to come!). Most of the girls are getting early nights tonight as we have quite a long day ahead of us – Blarney Castle in the morning and then it’s on to Spain!!

It was Laura Kramer’s 18th birthday today so her sister Anna started the day off well by surprising Laura with a cake this morning at breakfast. This put all the girls in a good mood and today has turned out to be an extremely fun day and laughter has filled the coach all day non-stop. We set off to Bunratty Castle at 10:30 after breakfast and received a guided tour by a hilarious character named Jack. The girls loved the old castle and once again, plenty of photographs were taken. After lunch, we set off to our second attraction of the day, the Rock of Cashel. Here’s what happened next...

Kangaroo Court:

Since the beginning of the trip, the girls have held an old rugby tradition which consists of picking a different person each day to wear a very striking purple tracksuit. They have to wear this tracksuit for the full day and have had to sing songs whilst wearing it, or if there are two girls to wear it, they each have to wear a piece of the tracksuit and swap at certain points in the day. This person is chosen because they have done or said something that the coaches have found ridiculous on the trip. The offenders so far have been Charlotte Ash on Day 2, Ailsa Craigen and Jennie Day on Day 3, Katie Grandis on Day 4, Caroline Garel-Jones and Rachelle Bonneville for part of Day 5 and Laurie Biewald for the rest of the evening on Day 5. Anita E had the tracksuit on today, and decided she was too cool to wear the pants and so changed halfway through the day back into her jeans. This is how Kangaroo Court came into session. We held a trial on the coach and the other girls were given the power to decide what Anita’s punishment was to be. Laurie Biewald acts as spokesperson for the group...



‘We think that whenever Anita sees a person wearing black clothing, she must introduce herself as Beyonce and ask if they want to see her dance. She has to do the dance regardless of whether they say yes or no. Also, if anyone (apart from the group) says the word ‘what’ to her, she has to scream at the top of her voice. When she speak to these people she must have a sock on her hand that acts as a puppet.’

Of course Anita wasn’t too pleased about this but she did it all the same like the good sport she is, and everyone was in hysterics for the rest of the afternoon. We then had to undertake the long journey to our next hotel in Youghal Town, near Cork. On arriving at the hotel at around 8:30, the team were very hungry and a bit tired so tonight will be all about getting some well needed rest in time for the game against Crosshaven RFC tomorrow.

The girls were up bright and early today for their trip to the Cliffs of Moher near Galway. This was quite a long journey, therefore we had two stop-offs on the coach, both on the coast of Galway Bay. The scenic landscape was so beautiful so plenty of pictures were taken by the girls.

As we travelled further and further up to the cliffs, the view got even more stunning, however even this couldn’t prepare the girls for what they were about to see at the top. The wind picked up as we climbed up to the tops, but the girls all agreed that it was well worth it to see the spectacular views of the ocean. After leaving the Cliffs of Moher at lunch time, we arrived back at the hotel in time for the girls to all relax before we had dinner. However, no rest for the wicked...most of the girls either went jogging or to the gym! Dinner was at 6, then it was off to Galway City Centre for some late night shopping. Most of the girls arrived back at the coach loaded up with bags, but some were sensible and have decided to save themselves for when we get to Barcelona! The girls are getting a nice lie-in tomorrow before we drive down to Bunratty Castle and on to our next hotel.

We checked out in the morning, after one last amazing breakfast at the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel. A lot of the girls will be sad to see the back of the food at this hotel – The Oranmore Lodge Hotel has a lot to live up to! One last free morning to go to any unexplored parts of Dublin was much appreciated (even if it was used for more – yes MORE – shopping!) After boarding the coach at lunch time, the long drive to Athlone required a stop-off and lucky for us, this was in a beautiful town called Kinnegad. As the weather was so good, lots of the girls bought ice creams and sat out in the sun for a while. Then it was back to the coach for the remainder of the journey. On arrival at Dubarry Park in Athlone, the girls had plenty of time for warming up, before they were set to play Thomas A. Stewart, also from Canada.

Captain of the first match, Laurie Biewald, gives this post-match report of the first game against Thomas A. Stewart.

‘We started off our game playing a fair share of defense in our end. We were finally able to kick it out of our own end and begin playing some well-structured offense. The first try was scored on the wing by Anita E, making the score 5-0. We were able to keep the ball in their end for the majority of the game and hammered the ball up the field to make yardage. The second try was scored by me, Laurie Biewald. The last try was the result of a great run by Charlotte Ashe and offload to Morgan O’Farrell. Laurie Biewald made the conversion, ending the game at 17-0. Again, we played a great and safe game, with no injuries. We were able to develop our scrums and line-outs in this game, and made many improvements from the last match.’

Ailsa Craigen, captain of the second match, also gives her post-match report:

‘In our second game, we played the Connaught team from Ireland. We played good defense and passed the quickly. Connaught scored first and got their conversion, putting the score at 7-0. After coming together and talking shortly about strategy, Jennie Day scored her first try for Ashbury on the right side wing, making the score 7-5. After playing well continually, Anita E scored the second try. The last try was scored by Laurie Biewald, who also scored the last conversion, making the final score 7-17. Overall, everyone got at least 20 minutes to play and had lots of fun.’

As there were four teams today, the games were only 25 minutes long. After all games had been played, it was on to the clubhouse for sandwiches. It was nice as the girls got to mingle amongst teams and get to know oneanother a bit more. Presentations were also made to the other teams; Ashbury exchanged signed posters and ball for Peterborough pins from Thomas A Stewart, and also gave signed posters to the other Irish teams.

We have now just arrived at our next hotel, which is situated just outside of Galway, the Oranmore Lodge Hotel. The next couple of days are jam-packed with sights to see, so hopefully the girls will be rested from their games in time to take it all in!

Today was all about fun, fun, fun! After being dropped off in the centre of Dublin, the girls went off in groups to watch the parade - all dressed in their fantastic St. Patrick’s Day attire, of course!



The City Centre was unbelievably busy, but the atmosphere was great, meaning that when the girls went on to watch the hurling and gaelic football finals at Croke Park, they were all in good spirits and excited to see what these two unusual sports were all about. After this, it was up to the girls what they did next, with some of them going for a walk to soak up the surroundings, and others meeting new and interesting people who had also travelled to see the parade. The trip back on the coach was very scenic as we drove past Dublin bay, giving the girls the perfect opportunity to take some pictures of the gorgeous sunset and the Irish Sea before we got back to the hotel for supper. Overall, I think (and I’m sure the girls would agree) that this has been the best day by far. However, the trip isn’t over yet, so let’s see if Galway can top Dublin!

An early start for the girls meant that we had chance to venture into the City Centre. Some went shopping (again!) while others carried on to Croke Park to see the huge stadium. Then it was back to the hotel for a quick lunch before we undertook the 3 hour journey to Enniskillen for the first match of the trip. We arrived in time for the girls to get in a good 45 minutes of warming up as the game kicked off at 6:30pm.



Post Game Report:

‘Our match started slowly with lots of defense played in the first half. We managed to finish the half with a 5-0 lead with a try scored by Maggie Cogger-Orr. In the second half, Enniskillen tied up the game with a try 10 minutes in. After another long period of defense, the Skins took the lead, 10-5 with 8 minutes remaining. This woke the team up, and we fought back into their 22m to score the tying try of the match – off a quick tap take by Maggie for her second try. The game ended in a 10-10 tie, and with everyone very satisfied with our defensive efforts and development over the game. Chicks of the match were Laurie ‘JR’ Biewald for her one-woman defensive efforts and Kate ‘S.I’ Amirault for her stellar runs. All in all, everyone got at least 15 minutes and no injuries (except for a sweet black eye on S.I’s part!) to worry about. It’s now time for some St. Paddy’s Day fun which has got all the girls very excited!!’

Laurie ‘JR’ Biewald and Maggie ‘Baby’ Cogger-Orr



The game was exceptionally entertaining to watch and the girls all had a great time! We then got to tuck into home cooked meals provided by the rugby club. After this well earned break, it was presentation time. Enniskillen gave our team a special plaque and tie in exchange for a signed flag, poster and ball from the Ashbury girls. On leaving the club at around 9:30pm, the long drive back meant the girls could relax and sleep in order to regain some strength in time for the celebrations tomorrow!