Navy Spring Break Tour Journal – Kelsey Bergh

Read below the Spring Break Tour Journal from Kelsey. Looks like Navy had a good time and got some great rugby in!

Day 1- Saturday, March 13th, 2010

We landed at Heathrow airport this morning at what we think is about 9am? Feels like we left school forever ago (Friday at 7am to be exact!) and we’re finally here! Our coach bus and driver Mike meet us at the terminal and we pile onto the bus to head to Cambridge. It’s about a 2 hour ride and the napping the team has been enjoying has been continues for the most part. We finally arrive at our accommodations and get to relax and unwind. Some of the girls venture into Cambridge, while others welcomed a nice hot shower. We met up with the Cambridge University women’s team at 6:30 for an evening out on the town. The Cambridge girls were incredibly hospitable and it seemed like all the players got along really well. Most of the Navy girls called it a night early, because we had a big day ahead of us tomorrow with our first match at 11am.

Day 2, Sunday, March 14th, 2010

So this is what international rugby is all about?! What a great game played by both teams this morning. The final score was 19-17 in Navy’s favor, but certainly could have gone either way. The game was full of fast-paced, aggressive rugby. It was great to play against a team that plays a very similar style of play that we do and it showed on the field with how good of a match it truly was. Cambridge scored first and forced us to play from behind, which was definitely a good learning experience for us. With less than 5 minutes to play and a penalty called against Cambridge inside the 22, Fly-half Erin Fields took the kick for points and put Navy up by 2. Play moved up and down the field as the clock wound down. The whistle blew and we had our first victory of our tour! The game was followed by an awesome afternoon at a pub for lunch and drinks. This outing quickly turned into a sing-a-long with each team showing just a little bit of its tradition. We sang our song which we sing after every game or trip and the Cambridge taught us a few songs of their own. The match pineapple which was a spectator at the match was quickly cut up on the bar and passed around as well as the “woman of the match” awarded. Our scrum half Elizabeth Trujillo received MVP of the match and tight-head prop Caitlin Castello won forward of the match. A little rest and showers after lunch were followed by yet another night out in Cambridge. We’re all having such a great time overseas and its only Sunday!

Day 3, Monday March 15th, 2010

Today is a travel day. We headed to Oxford, where we will be staying for a couple days. We arrive in oxford and have the day and night to ourselves to tour around, sightsee and get some food. Oxford is such a beautiful city and all of the girls seemed to really enjoy it.

Day 4 Tuesday March 16th, 2010

Game day! A good majority of the team took a tour of Christ’s Church this morning and than got lunch before it was back on the bus at 3pm for our 90 minute drive to Aldershot Stadium to face the Royal Army team. We get to the pitch and the Royal Army asked us to bring along an American flag which flew next to the British flag while we played. This was a pretty cool experience for all of the girls. What a match this turned out to be. The Royal Army team had a huge size advantage and the strength and speed to match! The game was a tough one and ended in what looked like a one sided 34-0 loss, but the reality was that we gave the Army team a very well fought match.  They were big and physical, but our forwards stepped up in a big way. We had some issues with making the first tackle and this disrupted our defensive shift. Almost every one of their tries was a breakaway due to our lack of defensive awareness. Despite the loss, it was a good learning experience for both young and old players. We recognized that we too can play a tough, physical, and aggressive game and hang with girls way bigger than us. It also pointed out some of our team flaws and things we will definitely be focusing on as we continue on in our championship season. After a very physical match, we were greeted with some of greatest hospitality from the Royal Army. They had dinner and drinks for us in their clubhouse after the game and we ended up staying for hours after the match. Once again traditions from each respective team were displayed and it was really a very entertaining night with lots of singing and dancing. Katie Andrews, Navy #8, was named MVP of the game for her superior play off the scrums and in open field play.

Day 5 Wednesday March 17th, 2010

Time to hit the road again! This time we travel to Portsmouth to be hosted by the Royal Navy team. After a nice team swim and that local pool to get our muscles shaken out, the team hits the town again. Another great town to sightsee in and much to several players excitement one of the largest shopping centers in all of Europe is located at Gunwharf Quays, a mere 5 minute walk from where we were staying! The girls entertained themselves with all of the shops and we had a nice team dinner at night all decked in green for St. Patrick’s Day!

Day 6 Thursday March 18th, 2010

Game Day! We played the Royal Navy team at 7pm under the lights and in the pouring rain. Can it really be that we made it through almost entire week in England with no rain? Well they weren’t letting us leave without some and we certainly enjoyed it as it poured the entire game. The field got muddy very quickly, soon followed by the girls and their jerseys, making it somewhat difficult to determine sides! We really got to put on a show this game as we used our speed throughout the team to offload and create some awesome opportunities for everyone to score. The final score was 34-0 and we ended our tour with a big W! Although happy about the win, we did sustain some injuries as one of our flankers was taken care of for a head injury and our hooker was looked at for a shoulder injury. We hope that they’ll be back soon and wish them a speedy recovery!

Day 7 Friday March 19th, 2010

Our last night in England and the girls hit the town. We enjoyed a variety of the local pubs and clubs and everyone made it back in time for our early 0630 am muster this morning. We said goodbye to our new Navy friends and headed to London to catch our flight back. We made it back smoothly with a few exceptions and got back to Annapolis at 11pm, just in time to get in bed for some sleep before our MARFU quarterfinal game against Princeton tomorrow!

Day 8 Saturday March 20th, 2010

Although were back in the states, today is still a crucial day of our tour. We have a very important match against Princeton University that if we come up with a win, will qualify us for the Sweet 16 Tournament in April. We started off a little slow and had to get the girls from England and the girls on Spring Break back into the groove of playing together. A little shaky, but we pulled off the win with a final score of 40-8. Now all we have to do is put in some hard work and prepare for the upcoming MARFU semi finals and finals and the SWEET 16 Tournament in April! What a great and memorable trip this has been. It has certainly taught us a lot about ourselves as players and as a team!