Manchester Under 11s Ghost Walk Tour of York 2013

As I drove up to Manchester Rugby Club a thought came over me….how daft do I look in this Mr Spock wig and will anyone else be wearing their wigs for our Wig Tour of York? No, actually I was thinking, how does the height barrier open and who would have the key on a wet and wild Friday evening? Luckily, Ali had already arrived and knew the code and approximate location of the aforementioned key. I set off down the drive, splashed about in the puddles, fumbled around for the key and having found it, headed down to the gates to let our coach in.

Fifteen minutes later, and with everyone on board wearing their wigs, we were off. The drink flowed, the volume rose and the song sheets came out. By the time we hit York, Dominic the Donkey was coming at us from the players at the rear of the coach!! Those travelling by car met us at York YHA and swelled our numbers to a nearly full compliment as we partied the rest of the night away, retiring in the early hours with thoughts of things to come filling our dreams.

Breakfast came too early for some of us with an 8 o'clock sitting provided by the YHA. It was a hearty breakfast for all who made it, with the sleepy heads strolling in around 9.30, some sporting excellent onesies and fantastic bed heads! There were lots of trips to the newsagents for lucozade, hedex and newspapers, but primarily to clear the heads of the previous night's excesses.

We were on the coach for 11am and after some amazing reversing by 'big Mike' to get around an abandoned van, we were off to 'Wired'. This was a high ropes activity centre and having been split into 3 groups, we spent the day swinging, running, jumping, squealing, hanging and even bleeding for the cause as we completed the high ropes and zip wire, obstacle courses and mine fields, the spider's web and the paper tower challenge. One of our number even ended up in A&E after catching his hand on the zip wire. This led to a run on buying gloves from reception which were actually supplied by the injured party…there's nowt as strange as real life sometimes is there? Four stitches later and the party was full again and after the award ceremony where I became Maria on my certificate(???), we headed back to the YHA for warmth, a nice drink and an early dinner. At this point we handed out the Tour tops and to a player we wore them to dinner so that everyone knew who we were at the YHA, and very smart we looked too.

It was all aboard once more with wigs on as we headed into York to meet up with, Mad Eyed Moody (Christian) who took us on a ghost walk of York and enthralled the boys and girls with his tales of the witch finder general, the ghost at the window and the disappearing children of York, whose footsteps could still be heard on quiet streets, late at night, when the wind blew chillingly through your bones!! It was brilliant, an hour and a half literally flew by as Christian took us from place to place via ginnels and dark passageways, back alleys and long forgotten rat runs as the stories spilled from his mouth and the fear on the faces of the listeners came more and more to the fore. A special mention at this point to JW who managed a full 40 winks stood behind Christian, swaying too and fro, but never losing his balance…truly amazing and definitely a sign that he's a witch!!

It was then time to head back to the YHA, change into onesies (the Hulk was my favourite) and refill our glasses and the judge made his way into court! What misdemeanours had ensued, what heinous crimes had been committed, who was to be punished, and how?

First to take to the stand was our glorious captain and leader, Josh, the charge, that he was a drama queen, having dislocated his shoulder in the act of Wendy Balling!! A rugby player using a Wendy ball for sport….never, surely not Josh above anyone? The crowd held their breath, the verdict came….GUILTY M'Lord!! The cries of burn him were heard far and wide as the crown of shame was placed on his sorrowed brow, oh the shame!!

Next up was Myles. He was charged with being a South American Popstar, Shakira! Why you ask? Well, he dislocated his hips, another one playing with a Wendy Ball and we all know, These hips don't lie!! The Dorothy wig of shame was placed on his head as again cries of, hang him rang out across the room…mainly, it has to be said, coming from the corner that his parents were sat in!!!

Then came Eddie, what heinous crime had he committed? No, it couldn't be, surely not! Eddie was charged with being a true pop star, having smashed a window in the snooker room? Burning's too good for him came the shout, hang him, no drown him!! The shades of shame went on, followed by the medallion of rock. Was that a smile on Eddie's face….would his dad pay out for the replacement window?

The final criminal was named! It was Sam. Could it be true….was he really Scottish? Let's look at the evidence… He can't catch for toffee, he likes watching the losing side during the 6 nations, he paints his face blue and has named his sons, Charles and James!! OMG, it's true, he's a witch, he's an ogre, he makes young children cry out in their sleep…..he's Scottish!! There was only one punishment befitting of his crimes…to wear the flag of St George for the rest of the tour. The rest of the night passed by. Parents and players drifted off to their beds, thoughts of the battle ahead spinning around their heads.

The day dawned again, early and a hearty last meal was taken by all. Again the onesies were to the fore with player after player dragging themselves from their slumbers throughout the morning. Then it was back onto the coach for the short drive to YRUFC. As instructions were given to get to pitch side, the shouts went out, follow the flag and we all looked out for Sam who took us to the pitch, his flag billowing out behind him as he strode forth.

The warm up was full of the usual shouts of, 'come on Myles, stop d**king about'! Then it was time for the players to stand shoulder to shoulder as the first team was named for the game. As our players looked to the York team, it was noticeable how much taller and bigger the opposition were. Time to man up came the orders and each player went through his pre-match ritual…., 'look at the big man, he's massive, where's my gum shield, can I be a sub, etc.

Let the games begin!! From the start both sides looked to play expansive rugby with the ball passing through the hands and getting far out to the wings. York put the pressure on and were soon converging on the Manchester 22. Constant pressure led to a penalty being conceded for hands in and the York 'big man', Toby, stepped up to receive the ball. As he rumbled towards the Manchester line, player after player bounced off him and he went over to give the lead to York. For the next 10 minutes it was up and down rugby. Both sides tackling hard and plenty of aggression at the breakdown led to turnover after turnover. York were the heavier pack by far, but the little men of Manchester ripped and tore, harried and sniped, with Charles, Eddie and James to be found at the bottom of most pile ups. Eddie, as team Captain led courageously until a mistimed tackle by York, put him off the pitch for the next 5 minutes whilst he regained his senses.

Tom Mac ran hard all day, with H Bomb darting in and out to recover the ball. Charles was a demon in defence and the back line held firm as the Viking onslaught advanced again and again. The Manchester pack rumbled up and down the field, Myles exchanging blows with anyone in his way. The injustices only he saw, revving him up for the fight to come in the final quarter of the match. With 10 minutes to play and from a poor line out throw that the ref let go, York again plowed through the Manchester forwards to secure their second try of the match. From the kick off, Manchester advanced, turned over the ball at the breakdown and pressed towards the York try line. The pressure was building, Manchester were in the ascendancy but a knock on brought respite to the York team. They broke free only to be felled by Thomas, deep in Manchester territory and coughed up the ball. Louis fell on the loose ball, sprang up and sprinted forwards. There was a slight knock on at this point and the ref blew, Louis stopped but the York player tackled the now stationary Louis. Foul play was called with the ref calling the York captain in to have words with his players, Manchester ball. James was off, supported by Charles who took the ball into contact. Olly, Will and Bill piled in to recover the ball. Ethan drove forward, Hanuf and Finn took turns at spreading the ball wide and then, first Matthew, then Myles got his hands on the ball. A strong tackle came in from Toby and then Myles came up throwing haymakers from the ground. The ref caught him and looked to the touchline for help, with none coming immediately, the crowd engrossed in the action. No option but to blow up and substitute Myles whilst he calmed down from the fracas. The scrum went uncontested at this point as Manchester were without a solid front row, Joe stepping in and quickly out of the forward battle when he team mate stood on his hand at the first scrum.

Both sides knew they were in a real tough game. York advanced once more and just metres from the Manchester line, last play was called. York spilled the ball and Charles pounced. A high tackle meant that the game couldn't finish on a penalty and Fin kicked down field. This caught York out and as they scrambled their defence another penalty was awarded. Could Manchester get the try that their play had warranted? The ball was thrown wide and Tom Mac was there, bursting through to score a well deserved try in the corner as the final whistle blew.

One hell of a match!! Hostilities forgotten, the sides shook hands and went to the club house to tell tales of bravery and valour until it was time to climb the coach steps for the return to Manchester. As we all headed off home from our clubhouse, it is true to say everyone had a great weekend. The coaches, players and parents all agreed, it was brilliant and we can't wait for the next one.

The tours totally awesome Tigers were (tries in brackets): Bill, Charles, Eddie, Ethan, Fin, Hanuf, Harrison, James, Josh, Joe, Louis, Matthew, Myles, Olly, Tom (1), Thomas and Will.

Tackle of the Tour: Thomas
Player of the Tour: Charles

Next week finds us training at home and building on the drill work we have been doing in previous weeks. Two more training sessions and then it is time for Lancashire Cup games. Lots of tackle and jackal drills, good hands through the backs and plenty of bravery in the contact areas will see us gaining in confidence.

Crouch, bind, set,

Ian