Dunfermline S1 tour to Letterkenny RFC, Co Donegal, Ireland

Leaving McKane at Friday lunchtime in Alex’s deluxe speed machine and Davie’s budget trundler, the 28 strong tour party headed south to Cairnryan to catch the ferry, singing our way into Larne before driving cross country to this year’s base in Dunfanaghy.

After an early(ish) night, Saturday morning was pretty much like every day this summer with the rain chucking it down. However after Davie’s team talk and Pete’s warm up the boys were ready to face the new season and our first ever 13 a side match on a big pitch versus hosts Letterkenny.

The wet conditions meant the ball was slippy and the early exchanges saw a few mistakes on both sides however Dunfermline soon opened the scoring with the backs moving the ball fast following quick ruck ball and Sam’s run through the defence allowed him to open the scoring. A second try was quickly added when the backs ran a ball from a scrum on halfway that saw Stewart take the ball at speed and run straight though the defence to score under the posts. Letterkenny came back strongly but good defence in the corner kept them out before half time. The second half saw Letterkenny start to use their forwards well however it was Dunfermline who scored again with the pack securing a turnover ball which was moved quickly to the wing allowing Stewart the space to run in the third try. The remainder of the match was spent in the Dunfermline 22 as Letterkenny pinned the boys back however their defence was excellent with the boys backing each other up to knock back the Letterkenny runners in the tackle or win turnovers at crucial times to secure an excellent win without conceding a try. With Mark’s two conversions that gave Dunfermline a winning score of 11 v 0.

After a break and some bacon rolls (for the dads) the boys then played two further 10 a side / half pitch games versus Donegal Town and Inishowen. In both games the boys played some excellent rugby and neither team could cope with the direct running, rucking and passing of the team with boys running out 6 tries to 1 and 8 tries to 0 winners respectively. Try scorers were Stonesy, Sam, Stewart, Conal, Jamie, Daniel and Dougie.

Once the games were finished, it was back to the clubhouse for food and swapping of t-shirts, medals and shields and a bit of chat. A quick feed at the KFC in Letterkenny was followed by the return trip to the hotel and an afternoon on the beach for a bit of paddling, stone skimming and crab hunting before the evening socialising kicked off.

Sunday morning saw everyone up (eventually) with breakfast consumed on the shores of the sea loch (a beautiful spot) before it was time to pack the kit, ball bags and boys into the vans and begin the long journey home. There was still time for an impromptu game of touch at Larne ferry port whilst waiting for the boat before crossing the choppy seas back to Scotland and the long haul up the road.

So another tour completed and for the third year in a row the boys return undefeated on tour having again been a credit to the club and excellent ambassadors for Dunfermline. Thank you to our hosts Letterkenny for the games and to Richard and everyone at the Carrig Rua for putting up with us. A fantastic couple of days.

Tour Squad
The boys: Charlie, Ali S, Ali M, Conal, Ross, Jordan, Dougie, Chris C, Chris M, Stewart, Sam, Euan, Duncan, Daniel, Craig, Mark, Kieran and Jamie.

The Dads: The Davie’s, The Gordon’s, Alex, Kenny, Gaz, Calum, Mike and Pete

Mentions in dispatches

• The boy’s defensive line in the last 5 minutes versus Letterkenny – fantastic.
• Dougie’s try and the team celebrations that went with it.
• Davie learning some new vocabulary whilst refereeing his first matches of the season.