Fixture

The tour kicked off at Blackwood rugby club at 9:00 Wednesday morning 1 June 2016. Kerry & Jane served a hearty breakfast before the party got on the bus at 10:30. The bus was slightly delayed much to the annoyance of the bus driver due to the fact that Gareth Preece was late as he couldn’t find his passport. The bus left without him but fortunately he found his passport and caught the bus up at Magor services. The stress of the situation lifted away from Gareth after his first glass of prosecco in Heathrow Airport.

The plane was slightly delayed and the party arrived in Krakow at approximately 9:30. The bus could not drive near the square in Krakow so the party had a 10 minute walk to the accommodation; but what a walk in the twilight hours through the beautiful historical square. The younger members then dumped their bags and hit the nightlife while the older wiser members of the party had a quiet drink in a local bar that became known as the committee bar.

The next morning half of the party went on a trip to Auschwitz while some other members went on a trip around the city on a golf cart and had a top notch lunch with 2 bottles of Polish wine and 4 large polish beers costing just £15 per person!!! The party assembled in the Bulldog bar at 7:00 when some of the beer kitty was spent and a good old rugby sing song took place ending with the famous Stars song.

On Friday morning a number of the party was looking a bit weary but that did not deter them from going on a trip to the salt mines. Richard (Bradley Wiggins) Lewis had organised a cycle tour, the night before over 20 people showed interest, however there were a number of drop outs on the day as only Richard and 2 others turned up. The tour still went ahead however and it was a fantastic way to view the beautiful city of Krakow. At 7:00 the kitty was again opened but this time in the Committee bar which was much more economical then the Bulldog Bar. All the party were now becoming very accustomed to the local speciality shot called ‘MAD DOG’. The evening ended for some at 6:00 in the morning with another good old sing song.

Saturday was game day and it started with a game of hide and seek between the players and committee. All the players were hiding in various parts of the square but fortunately the committee won the game and transported all of the players safely to Juvenia sports centre. It was a glorious sunny day and slowly the majority of the Stars players started to recover. The Polish side turned up and appeared very big. The performance of the Stars players in the circumstances however was top draw. The Stars forwards had the edge up front but Juvenia eventually won the game 26-7. Nathan Richards was man of the match for the Stars for his committed performance. Juvenia play in the top Polish league and their Fijian winger and scrum half from the Ukraine was probably the difference between the two sides.

The rest of the beer kitty was spent after the game. Juvenia were excellent hosts putting on a BBQ and large quantities of free beer after the game. Another sing song took place together with a Kangaroo court when offenders were severely punished. The tour ended at 7:00 Sunday morning with a final sing song in the committee bar.

The party left Krakow very quietly on Sunday afternoon arriving back in Blackwood at 3:00 Monday morning

This was a probably one of the Stars best tours. The party of 56 friends got on extremely well and are a fantastic bunch of players, members and committee. All the party made it back safely without any major mishaps.

Next years tour is Bournemouth 7s in May 2017.

Stars together stronger.