Friday 11/4. Once we had ironed out the accommodation issues pre-Flight we took off from Zürich to Birmingham where a coach drove us to our hotels in Shrewsbury.

Saturday 12/4. The first fixture was against Oswestry RFC. On arrival we surveyed the huge farmers‘ sons who had arrived early and inwardly groaned. Then more U13 and U14 players arrived who were normal sized and we relaxed a bit. The match was played over 3 x 20 mins and Zug used a few players from the opposition to make it a full 15 vs 15 match.

Cheered on by the gin and tonic and beer drinking supporters, the Zug players were magnificent, playing excellent running rugby and defending ferociously! Over the 3 periods Zug scored 11 tries and conceded only 4. a superb victory!

At the clubhouse the players were served a sausage sandwich and the afternoon was rounded of with an exchange of shirts and a flag, followed by a visit to a trampoline park. An on field injury was swiftly dealt with at A&E and the young man was able to attend the team dinner that evening which was a delicious curry in Shrewsbury.

Sunday 13/4. After leaving the hotel the now 8 player squad drove by coach to Telford for the second fixture. On arrival we noticed that this was a very busy club - 4 pitches, all in use with matches. A few parents regretted their flimsy clothes, having mixed up Telford with Tahiti!!!

We again agreed to play 3 x 20 minutes and played 11 a side rugby. The quality of the opposition was a massive step up from Oswestry, and for the first 20 minute period we needed to adjust our game and tactics to reflect this increased pressure and much harder tackling. In the second period we had adjusted and played the finest rugby we have ever seen by this team - great teamwork, hard tackling and straight running - saw Zug draw the second and third periods which was a brilliant achievement.

Sausage sandwiches and squash were served whilst we swapped shirts and flags with our hosts and, once finished, we boarded the coach for the airport and Zürich via Ironbridge for fish and chips.

The tour was a huge success and the players performed incredibly on the pitch. Thanks so much to the players for their commitment, to the parents for their great company, support and humour and to the coaches for their encouragement and enthusiasm. Definitely a worthwhile visit and we will definitely do it again in 2026.