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Hartpury College Rugby Tour

To France and The Gent Festival Easter in 2019

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Hartpury College Rugby Tour

With last season coming to an unfortunate and abrupt end, the vast majority of teams missed out on their opportunity to tour and one college that this effected was Hartpury who were looking to repeat their trip to France and Belgium and to defend their winner’s trophy from the Ghent Festival the year before when they remained unbeaten throughout  the two fay Festival. 

Last year Hartpury College not only attended the Gent Easter Rugby Festival but rather than just going over the Easter weekend, they decided to extend their stay by first travelling to Criel Sur Mer near Dieppe in France.

After meeting for an early start at the college, they travelled down to Dover for their mid-morning ferry to Dover where they were met by two members of Burleigh Travel staff who were to act as their tour representatives while on tour.

After a comfortable journey across on the ferry and some breakfast, they then began the two and a half hour journey across to their first location in a Chateau in Criel Sur Mer. This location was a fantastic base for the group for the next few days with some activities on site, a short walk to the nearby beach and a field which was suitable for some training.

Added to this on their second day on tour, they travelled to nearby Dieppe where they enjoyed their first match of tour and enjoyed a strong warm up win against a spirited Dieppe team. After the game, some members of the Hartpury group were involved with providing training sessions to some of the younger age groups at Dieppe which was a great experience for all involved and assisted them in one of their module’s in their College Diploma course in Sporting Excellence demonstrating the importance of Learning Outside the Classroom.

Dieppe were fantastic hosts both on and off the pitch and this applied to the post match hospitality where the group were made to feel welcome by their hosts and promises were made by both to meet again next year in Dieppe’s new club house. At the accommodation, the group were well catered for with a full board meal package including a typical French experience with snails and frog legs and chicken for the less adventurous! The group were able to take dinners later when required and were provided with private rooms with meetings to discuss the day and matches which was greatly appreciated. Added to this, on this site, the group took part in activities of archery, fencing and indoor climbing which added some competitiveness away from the rugby pitch.

On the Friday, the group departed for Gent, stopping en route in Dunkirk for some much needed nutrition and to find out more about this fascinating and famous beach.

Upon arriving in Gent, the group checked into their accommodation of a converted monastery and looked forward to the weekend ahead. Foley’s Irish restaurant  proved a fantastic location for the group where they were able to have a private room to both enjoy their food and have discussions about the festival ahead. Later that evening some of the coaches and the Burleigh Travel staff travelled to the rugby club to register for the tournament and to see some where the group would be based over the next two days.

On the first day of the tournament Hartpury faced teams from all over the world and managed to win each of the games with the even more impressive feat of not conceding a point even in some extremely close matches.

In between the fixtures, the group enjoyed the nearby park and man-made beach which included slides into the water, this was a huge hit and provided some light relief between games. At the conclusion of the first days play, the group enjoyed the all you could eat BBQ with a variety of different options before returning to the accommodation to recharge for the next day’s rugby.

The next morning Hartpury awoke and travelled to the short distance to the Festival to play their last group game and after this they proceeded to the semi-final, after a tight run affair, they emerged from the game victorious and would later play in the final on the main pitch.

The final was a close affair with nothing separating Hartpury or the Welsh side until the final two minutes when Hartpury picked up the decisive try. This led to a nervy final two minutes where they were able to hold onto their lead and thus were crowned the U19 Gent Easter Rugby Festival Champions.

After this, the group headed to the socialising area where there was a dj and would later be the awards ceremony, they were presented with their trophy before heading back to Foley’s for their final meal of tour and to hold a ‘tour court’, after this final night, they then travelled home the next morning to conclude their tour.

If a tour such as this sounds of interest to you, please get in touch with us now. Please note that due to the number of tours being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of spaces on tours over the popular Easter weekend are filling very quickly so please look to declare your interest if this is something you are seriously looking at.

At Burleigh Travel we can organise a range of rugby tours for rugby teams of all ages. Please visit our website where you can read more about our range of rugby tours and the rugby teams these can be offered too.

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Testimonials

  • I just wanted to say thank you, we had a great tour and everyone had a great time. We really enjoyed the festival, the atmosphere was excellent. The level of rugby was fantastic and very competitive.

    Llantwit Major RFC U16s tour to the Gent Festival

  • The boys had a whale of a time and can’t stop talking about the tour!! I was really happy with your service and found it so much easier then organising it myself, which I have done in previous years!

    Bridgend Athletic RFC U16s tour to the Gent Festival

  • I would recommend this tournament, and Burleigh Travel to any rugby team. The tournament was extremely well organised and was played in the best of spirits. The evening entertainment was superb!

    Rochford Hundred RFC U17s tour to the Gent Festival

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