It was a burning hot day on Friday, as most of the squad made their way to Bristol via a horrendous traffic jam on the M4. As we all finally got in we made our way to the pre-booked dinner at the Foley, pausing only for a well-deserved beer or two. The meal itself was, lets say, interesting. Personally I didn’t know that you could get gravy in slices, that you can order mushy peas with a baked crust or that burgers can come in dried biscuit form. It was fortunate that it was Mike E who made friends with the head chef in the beer garden, as he was the only one who got a decent main course. With a big tournament ahead of us, the entire squad retired sensibly to bed at 9pm with a nice cup of Horlicks. For those who didn’t make it this time, I can assure you that is definitely what happened. Any photographic evidence to the contrary can safely be dismissed as AI-generated slop.

The big day arrived and the squad were suitably re-invigorated in the way that only a Full English can do. A big thanks to those who drove all of us to the ground and the the advance party who had the tent ready to go. The shelter from the sun was absolutely vital, so thanks again to Mike S for supplying the tent - which once again drew admiration from some of our neighbours. With over 50 teams from 40 clubs, this was a huge and well-organised event, so the efforts of Kingswood RFC were appreciated by all of the participants. Each team needed to supply a nominated Ref - so I’d like to call out Tony who stepped up for Wimbledon and ended up reffing several games before joining us for our last two as a player.

On to the rugby and I can safely say that we did ourselves proud at this tournament. Starting against the Adrian Davies Lodge and then Ashley Down Old Boys, we were 2 wins from 2 before coming up against the Birmingham Civils (Spitfires) and our first narrow loss. Even within that game, team captains Mary and Kevin adapted our tactics to match that of the Civils, by making steady progress into the opposition final third before unleashing our attacking prowess.

Moving down to the lower pitches for the remaining three games, Wimbledon had hard-fought victories against the Cric Crocs, Gloucester Relics and the Nailsea Silver Ravens. There was some great attacking rugby and some fine tries, but probably the standout from the whole tournament was how organised and effective we were in defence. In the spirit of the event, the Refs were not keeping score (except of fair play points) but it was fantastic to hear more than one tell us ours was the best game they had officiated. All of our games were played in a great spirit and though we didn’t win the fair play trophy, we were surely in the running we thought.

On to the apres-rugby and with a tent relocation executed with military precision, we were in a prime location to enjoy the really impressive band - “Freeze” I believe they were. When their first set was cut short by an overheating amplifier (did I mention it was a bit hot on Saturday?) the musical gap was quickly filled by our old friends the Cric Crocs. With traditional Welsh singing they entertained the crowd with some old standards - though their additional verse to “Delilah” is unlikely to be repeated by Tom Jones any time soon. Challenged to contribute a song of our own, we of course responded with the Wombles song. Later research found that this has 2 verses and a pre-chorus, so next year we’ll all have to learn the whole thing in advance.

With power restored, Freeze resumed their set and the dancing was led by our own Andy as Dance Captain - a man who literally has the T-shirt. A great time was had by all on the dance floor and multiple encores were called for and delivered. A tactical decision was then made to return to the hotel before the likely crunch on taxis later in the evening. The crew set up in the (boiling hot) restaurant to watch the England Wendy-ball team at 10. All I can say about that game is that it was played at a slower pace than the walking rugby we’d seen all day.

The team coped with this in the traditional manner with various forms of liquid refreshment. Most notably the “Gin and Hooch” combination which, though admittedly refreshing, can only be described as a time bomb. In a metaphorical sense, unlike the hand grenade which somehow got swapped in for Kevins beer bottle at one point. I can’t claim to be a 100% reliable witness, but I believe we did avoid the rounds of Whisky which definitely didn’t happen the previous night. With the game finally over, the squad retired with dignity to a well earned rest. Back to home in the morning with some great stories and memories. I am sure that all of us who went for the first time now appreciate the semi-legendary status this trip has at Wimbledon Walking Rugby and will be sure to go again. Many thanks to all involved with the logistics and organisation, led of course as ever by our founder and coach Jim Green.