Canadian Rugby Team visit Akeley

Akeley Wood School vs Heritage Park School, Canada

Through a combination of rustiness and lack of rugby for the Akeley boys and a spirited and committed performance from our Canadian visitors, what resulted was a hard fought and very competitive match that was played in a fantastic spirit.

Heritage Park surprised our boys with their athleticism and speed to the breakdown; something which Mr Jackson had warned them about in the pre-match huddle. This resulted in Akeley losing possession on several occasions having gone through several good phases. It was in fact our guests who very nearly opened the scoring after some quick hands in the backs and a couple of missed tackles, but Akeley managed to clear the danger following a knock on over our try line.

After a couple of close calls on the Heritage try line, Tom O’Leary somehow managed to squeeze through a ruck and score the opening try. This appeared to settle Akeley nerves, and the boys began to play some cohesive rugby. Finally some inventiveness in the backs led to skipper Alex Awenat showing his class and scoring the second try, which Simeon Denne converted.

To Heritage Park’s credit, they kept their heads up and fought for every scrap of possession, and despite the scoreline (12 – 0 at half time), the game never felt safe.

The second half began in much the same way as the first, with Akeley errors and Heritage tenacity in the loose, and eventually Heritage were rewarded with a fine try down the left wing. Had the touchline conversion not hit the post, the game could really have been on, but as it turned out, a second try from Alex Awenat sealed the game and Akeley ran out 17 – 5 winners.

Post match tea and presentations followed, where Alex Awenat was nominated by Mr Jivan Dhaliwal (Heritage Park’s coach) as Akeley Wood’s MOM and Darwin Guevara and Cole Delorme as Heritage Park’s MOM’s.

My sincere thanks go to Dr Grundy for allowing this visit to go ahead, Mr Benyon for refereeing, Mr Jackson for overseeing the Akeley team, and most importantly of all, to all of the parents who most generously opened their homes and welcomed our Canadian friends.

The few days that Heritage Park spent with us, from the BBQ at Buckingham RFC to the match, will always bring fond memories, and hopefully new and lifelong friendship. Maybe one day Akeley Wood will pay a return visit to Heritage Park as part of our Overseas Tour programme.

Mr M R Strong