Rugby: F1 tour to Oxford

On Thursday January 21st, 14 excited boys along with Mr Marnewick and Mr Osborne departed for Oxford on a two match rugby tour. The itinerary included fixtures with the Dragon School (Oxford) and Brockhurst (Berkshire), along with some necessary sightseeing and team bonding. After arriving at the Dragon, boys were billeted and the Merchiston coaching staff was in the hands of the friendly and accommodating Dragon staff.

On the Friday morning, boys returned to the school and were treated to a tour of Oxford, as well as a visit to the Museum of Natural History. Upon returning from the outing, Merchiston had its first fixture with the Dragon and although there were passages of excellent rucking and contested scrumming, the Dragon showed they were in a league above anything our boys have experienced in Edinburgh and ran away comfortable victors by 40 points.

While the result did cause a loss in team morale, boys picked themselves up quickly and on the Saturday morning we departed for Brockhurst, hoping to get a win under our belt. At Brockhurst, boys had the pleasure of staying in the boarding house and this proved to be quite a hit, with many of our day pupils having never experienced boarding. The fixture later that afternoon proved to be a more evenly matched game and Merchiston combined some strong running with clinical passing, to run out 22-14 winners.

The boys had a great time away and also managed to learn a few new things about rugby which they can carry with them for the rest of the rugby season. This remains a very talented year group and the future of Merchiston rugby looks strong. We would like to thank all the staff from the Dragon and Brockhurst schools as well as parents who were most accommodating over the few days that we spent with them.