'Stoke under-eights do like to be beside the seaside (From Basingstoke Gazette)

'Stoke under-eights do like to be beside the seaside

8:00am Wednesday 25th April 2012 in Rugby

Basingstoke RFC’s under-eight squad are celebrating after winning the South Coast International Festival of Rugby.

The youngsters were on tour for the event, with the squad of 21 spending three days in Torquay and taking on teams from around the country.

The club entered two sides, the Basingstoke Bandits and Basingstoke Gringos – and both did brilliantly, so well in fact that they met in the final, guaranteeing a Basingstoke victory.

It was the first time in 16 years that an under-eights squad had been on tour with the club and the weekend proved to be a massive success on and off the pitch.

Head coach Andrew Birch said: “This has been a fantastic experience for the children and they are a real credit to the club.

“During the matches they displayed fabulous individual skills and demonstrated great team play to score over 60 tries between them.

“Off the pitch the children had a fabulous time and developed very strong team bonds that will make them a force to be reckoned with next season.

“Successful rugby teams are built around a team ethic and supporting each other on and off the pitch. The children clearly have this and are looking forward to their next challenge.”