Final day

Final games on tour yesterday. Hockey Girls v Vancouver Hawks - 4-3 victory to EA, WOTM Ellie Gardiner, Jasmine Banks hat-trick. Boys Hockey v Vancouver Hawks - 6-1 victory to EA, MOTM P Tremmel/A Devine. 

Rugby v Chuckanut Bay - 2nd XV 20 - 41 loss, 1st XV - 52-0 victory.

Heading off for breakfast now.

Cool beans!

P.S. Reminder to collect your children from Kinnear Road at approximately 11am.

Day 11

Victoria to Vancouver. Ferry ride in brilliant sunshine allowed for better viewing of stunning island coastlines than the inward journey had. Party lounged around the deck in the sun. Bags dropped back at YWCA then straight out to watch boys and girls play West Vancouver hockey club. Pipes were played, the Poznan performed as goal celebrations, numerous renditions of Floreat Academia, Guide me O and I vow to thee, led by 'voice of an angel' Mikey Dean, and whatever the opposite of that is,  Adair Wood, dueled with home renditions of 'O Canada'. Squad morale was through the roof. South of the border to Seattle to play Chuckanut Bay on Monday.

Day 10

Whale watching. Day started with rugby captain, Blair Kinghorn, expressing concerns that he thought he was 'allergic to whales.' 'Why?' 'Becauese last time I went whale watching I felt really sick.' He actually said that. We had the boat to ourselves and following a 40 minute journey out into the Pacific, we spotted our first Orca. One of a pod of 8. For the next hour we watched them breaching, spy hopping, tail lobbing and fin slapping. One swam under our boat. The pod matriarch is a 103 yr old Orca called 'Granny', the oldest Orca to occupy these waters, the pod included 2 of her adopted sons. We were reminded and subsequently reminded ourselves, that we had been very lucky to see a whole pod in such playful form, it was a genuinely remarkable and moving couple of hours. On our way back in, we again witnessed some astonishing scenery, mountainous  islands emerging and disappearing through the sea fog. We returned via a seal island, then some of us were lucky to see a sea otter in Fisherman's Warf.

In the evening the whole party headed to Victoria's China town for a meal. This would be the last time we would eat together and the kids dressed to the nines, doing the occasion justice, the early evening sun soaked stroll to the restaurant was a perfect end to a pretty special day

Day 9 - Royal BC Museum and match day 3

The whole squad spent a fascinating morning at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria which has a fascinating Viking exhibit on loan from Sweden as it's centrepiece. The exhibit on Canada's indigenous population was extraordinary and the group left knowing significantly more about the country they were spending two weeks travelling around. Following lunch both squads departed for their matches, the hockey squads were playing a mere 21 minutes away against a composite squad and the Rugby squads were playing in Duncan against Cowichan Rugby club. The Rugby matches were a much more even physical challenge and the 2nd XV demonstrated a real togetherness to defeat their opponents 30-7. Harry Simpson ran the game superbly from fly half and strong performances came from Kamran Afshar, Michael Seydak (who was withdrawn early to allow him to substitute for the 1st XV), Chris Stillie and Angus Hawkins. The 1st XV demonstrated their potential with a 69-0 victory over their hosts. The forwards set the tone with a superb performance, particularly from Tokumbo Lawal and Scott McGinley. Behind Blair Kinghorn produced his best form and Lachlan Stewart showed great courage at the unfamiliar position of centre. Ben Appleson scored 4 tries and the whole team will take huge confidence from the performance. 2nd XV M.O.M. Harry Simpson & Chris Stillie. 1st XV M.O.M. Tokumbo Lawal.

Day 8

The idyllic setting of Jericho Park near UBC in Vancouver was the venue for two very hard rugby matches. The bravery on show from both the 2nd and 1st XVs will live long in the memory of all those who witnessed these epic encounters. The 2nd XV played first and demonstrated great belief in and ability to apply the game shape that we have been working on in training since before we arrived in Canada. The skills on show in the contact situations were excellent and allowed the 2nds to put a good string of phases together and retain possession well in the face of some very aggressive defence. In the end the 2nds ran out 12-0 victors - M.O.M. was Finn Thomson with a brace of tries. 

The 1st XV set a very high standard for the season with a heroic performance against a hugely physical Ravens XV. After going behind to an early try the XV played some sublime attacking rugby, coupled with ferocious work at the breakdown to take the lead with a super try from Kelvin Chen, converted by Blair Kinghorn. The remainder of the 30 minutes was played out in a familiar fashion with the XV attacking with courage and skill and the opposition defending with ferocity. Eventually a turnover led to the winning try for the Ravens, however, huge positives were taken out of the game and the XV can move on to the next game in really good spirits - M.O.M. was Scott McGinley with a huge performance, not far behind were Tokumbo Lawal and Blair Kinghorn.

Both hockey teams had an excellent experience playing against Club India from the Surrey district of Vancouver. Travelling on our iconic yellow-school bus all on board were thrilled to see a 'Commonwealth Games-esque' water-based hockey pitch, along with a stand and video tower. The girls were excited to play first but got off to a slow start. Superior stick skills from the opposition and individual errors from the EA girls led to us going in 3-0 down at half-time. Ms. McWilliam's half-time team talk focused on getting back to basics and inspired the team to a much improved second half performance. A solid core of J. Smith, I. Bryce and J.Banks led from the front as we upped the tempo significantly. The opponents couldn't match our drive and a few very well worked goals got us back into the game. A much improved second half performance was not quite enough for a victory but three second half goals resulted in a 4-3 defeat. Lots of things to work on but also many positives - exactly what we like from a pre-season match.

WOTM - J. Smith

Having warmed up during the girls 2nd half, the boys missed their inspired come-back. The game started at a great pace and there were multiple chances at both ends. J. Carrie didn't put a foot wrong at the back and we earnt a number of short-corners through skilled work in the circle through P. Tremmel and A. Devine, although we struggled too make the most of them. Somehow the match was still 0-0 at half-time. The second half opened up a bit and our superior experience and fitness showed as gaps started to open up. As usual P. Christie dictated the tempo from centre-back and S. Drennan showcased the intensity that has been demanded of the team. Goals from P. Christine, A. Power and B. Jourdan led to a brilliant second half performance and a 3-1 victory.

MOTM - S. Drennan

A huge thank you to the opposition and for their organisation. There was a healthy representation from the local community who turned up in numbers and 30 pizzas were joyously received by the EA squads and staff!

views from Banff

Day7

Day 7

On day 4 the party arrived in Banff. At the reception of our hotel we were told that we could expect to see 'some wildlife.' A nearby trail had recently been closed as an aggressive male grizzly had been spotted, and there would be a fine of $65000 for trespassing on closed trails. Where bears are supposed to find that sort of money, goodness knows. We headed for the Sulphur Mountain gondola. Hiking to the start of the ride we passed the iconic Banff Springs Hotel, the place to be if wealthy and desirous of shooting something much larger than oneself in the first half of the last century. Teddy Roosevelt and Edward 8th being among those to have fulfilled both criteria. The 10 minute gondola took us to the top of the mountain, the 9000 ft peak giving extraordinary views of the surrounding Rockies. Much of the party were left speechless for what seemed like the first time since Glasgow airport. The next morning, a number of us saw an Elk relaxing next to a bush on the main road, while stopping at Lake Louise the next morning on our way to  our next billet at Kanloops, Ms McWilliam spotted a bald eagle resting on the thermals above the lake. The clear skies over Kanloops that night allowed us to see shooting star after shooting star.

On day 6 the hockey squad headed straight to their fixtures where the girls drew 3-3, the boys 2-2, winning their penalty shoutout. The rugby party headed for training and accommodation at The University of British Columbia. We reconvened as a squad at Splashdown waterpark on day 7. A day spent on the flumes and playing basketball and volleyball was the perfect downtime following some long days of travelling and tough games and training. The rugby boys are billeted, the hockey squad staying in downtown Vancouver, with the promise of a morning spent on the islands in Vancouver Bay, followed by 2 hockey and 2 rugby fixtures this afternoon.

We have been unable to receive e-mails since day 4 but can now do so.