And so the 2014/15 mini season draws to an end. With the senior sides doing so well, car park busting Sundays at Colley Lane and good results for the minis of all ages it has been a great year.

But there is one more hurdle to jump. The Isle of Wight Tour.

Saturday

Dads (generic term used to refer to parents on the tour regardless of sex, it is just going to be easier that way !) are looking nervous. Well, Dads who didn't go last year are looking nervous are they don't know quite what to expect but have heard the rumours; and Dads who did go last year are nervous as they as starting to remember what happened.

The kids are nervous as it is pretty early and there are no coaches apparent in the car park of the Town Hall, but then out of the early morning mist our shiny chariots appear. They have toilets, is this necessarily a good thing ? How much of a mess will thirty bags of crisps really make. Mums wave us off with a tear in their eye, walking off inexplicably talking in Italian "Costa? Cappucino ? Pinot Grigio ? Garibarlo ?".

Then we are away, the one way system quickly a memory. Dads being dads the potential route is analysed, including sets of roadworks and recent road-warrior tales of derring-do on the M25. Not that this is interesting, but it does rather distract from the realisation that the coach has turned into something similar to a monkey enclosure at feeding time. And the worry that you have only packed a toothbrush and a spare pair of pants; and that your roomies may not have even packed that minimum. Tour shirts are quickly passed around and we become one glorious blue army.

Portsmouth was badly bombed in the war; and frankly some of it must have looked better just after that event than it does today. Glimpses of HMS Victory provides some cheer, as does the early arrival at the ferry terminal. 9:50 but we are booked on the 11am. No problem for Wightlink it seems, and we are on before we know it and the ferry is sailing before we are even getting off the coach.

It feels like we are on holiday, which it probably did for those quietly relaxing in the lounge of the ferry before the blue tide washed through decks. The Rhinos had arrived. The stunning harbour of Fishbourne arrives quickly, and we are back on the coach with coffees in hand, disembarking and heading out onto the narrow roads of the Isle of Wight, which clearly were not invented for today's double deck coaches. 7 point turns ensue.

The youth hostel looks like a wing of Hogwarts, but the small number of staff are hugely efficient and we are sorted in rooms before we know it and heading off down to the beach. The sun is out, we have packed-lunches, and there are ripples of conversation about "the beach" and "the amusement arcade". And that was just the parents. We walk in dribs and drabs down the cliff and along the seafront. Past sandy beach after sandy beach, each one being rejected under the scrutiny of the elders of the tribe. "This one ? No, too many pebbles" "This one ? No, there is a bit of seaweed that wasn't there last time" ... science is only just beginning to understand how this migration occurs, how the perfect beach is selected, wind direction, wave patterns, the minute changes in the grasses. But unfailing we end up in the right spot. Exactly opposite the pub. Astounding.

The sun shines brightly as the three teams for the next day are finalised, with no substitutes it is going to be tough, but it means all the boys play all the matches. So the final preparations begin, going through some training routines and short games whilst many of the sportier (and less sporty) dads played a tough game of football. Some grumbles about being "bulldozed" seem to emerge later on !

Eventually the lure of both beer and the sea cannot be ignored. Some brave boys went in early, and pronounced it "great". This is true for both the sea and the pub. With various sunny groups of sandcastle builders, paddlers and a football game underway, some quality dad-time with beer and banter was well underway. The children move easily from one group to another, playing football to warm up after being in the sea, or helping in out in the major sand engineering project. It is great to see them all getting on so well. A couple of braver adult go into the sea as well. At the end of Blade Runner, Rutger Hauer's character makes a speech about "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe…". Well, we've now seen a couple of coaches emerge from the Solent in just their underpants. Sorry, Rutger, but you ain't seen nothing. "It was cold" apparently. Although the cold didn't appear to both Alex S and Harry B, who stood chatting in the waves for quite some time, then went for a swim !

We move from beach to arcade and mini-golf and another pub on the way back. The 7pm deadline for Youth Hostel supper comes quickly, and a seal swimming near the sailing club delays a few. (Note : It was definitely the seal, and absolutely not "one last one" and a bloody steep climb back up the cliffs. Again, rumours reach us of a couple of parents who were seriously considering getting a taxi back !)

After supper there are some games, musical chairs and murder. And some more murder in the form of Bulldogs.

And we are then all tucked up in bed by 8pm, as we have a big day ahead. Any singing, drinking, BB gun fights, arguments or anything like that were some other people. Walkers probably. Agreed ? And nobody got locked out of their room.

Sunday - and finally some rugby

6:30am and we are shouted awake. Having been in bed early this is fine. Breakfast is done, and the usual shrugging answers to "is this your son's ?" when a loose sock is found. "Where is my phone", "I've lost my wallet". We just about get everyone onto the coach, with just about all our stuff. A few rooms keys are found in pockets, and returned to their rightful owners.

The rain that was "90% certain" looked like it was staying away, so the short trip over to Newport had improving spirits. As we had been promised, the U8s pitches were about as far away from the coach parking as it was possible to be, but everywhere was sell signposted. Despite the early start most of the other U8 teams had already set up their very fancy sponsored corporate hospitality tents.

But no time to stand and admire, first the first matches on at 10:15 some final warm up and practice was arrange whilst we set up our tent and corporate hospitality - or "the bench" as it is known. Glancing at the first round of matches showed what we already knew, there were some strong teams here of course.

All 3 teams were playing at the same time in the group stages. Three games each, and a single win would get the team through to the knockout stages. Game on.

Raptors vs Romsey - A high scoring game, with Tom B showing more of this slinky running, but Romsey eventually ran away with the game 5 - 10.

Rhinos vs Chichester - Very tight game against a well organised team, but despite some heroic defending the Rhinos ended up losing 1 - 3. With a couple of missed chances of tries, this was a closer game than the scores suggested.

Barbarians vs Alton - Another tight game to start with, and some missed chances, but Alton converted their chances well in the second half. We ended up losing 2 - 5.

Three loses from the first matches wasn't too good. And more importantly the boys didn't look like they were enjoying themselves all that much. But the squad spirit that we had seen on the beach the day before came through and soon they were waking up with a game of football. That, and the encouragement from out brilliant coaches seemed to do the trick. Game on, again.

Raptors vs Wanstead - An incredibly tight game, with the winning try coming late in the match to put the Raptors in the next stages with a 4 - 3 win. The highlight of the match being a break from deep in our own half by the every running Robin, and a floated pass to Finlay who ran it into the corner whilst looking somewhat surprised there was nobody around to tag him.

Rhinos vs London Scottish A - With Reigate Vs Scottish on two pitches side by side, we wondered it the double could be done. The game was tight, but the Rhinos had the best of the play and didn't convert all their chances but they held onto a lead of 5 - 4 to win !

Barbarians vs London Scottish B - Another tight game from the fired up Barbarians. And again, the scoreline was tighter than the run of play suggested. Passes and space and all things good meant a 5 - 4 win for the Babas.

The boys had woken up, and all our teams should be in the next stages !!!

Raptors vs Heathfield - Incredibly close for the Raptors, and it really could have gone the other way but a narrow loss 5 - 6.

Rhinos vs Bracknell Raiders - More great passing from the Rhinos, and they fought hard but some turnovers meant they lost 5 - 7.

Barbarians vs Bracknell Pirates - Due to a late start, this was the last match but what a performance, Bracknell clearly have a lot of players in their minis with 3 teams and plenty of subs. A great performances from the whole team saw some tired Barbarians win 7 - 6 and put them on 2 wins out of 3 and 2nd in their group to go forward to the "Plate".

A bit of a chance for a break before the final games, some grabbed food, some got dive-bombed by a seagull. Some took advantage of the "bench" only to find a gust of wind blew them off backwards. Isle of Wight microclimates, eh !

3rd Place Playoffs - the "Bowl"

Raptors vs Bucaneers - two turnover tries in the first minutes, one with some absolutely sublime handling from Alex H, set the Raptors on course for a win, taking them into the "Bowl" final.

Rhinos vs Pirates - coming up against a very strong team, the Rhinos were a little tired and had no subs, despite some early tries against them, then fought back to 3 - 4 at half time.

2nd Place Playoffs - The "Plate"

Barbarians vs Raiders - So very close at the end, but the Barbarians ended their battle for 2nd place with a narrow 4 - 5 loss.

3rd Place Finals

The great run by the Raptors saw them narrowly lose the "Bowl" 4 - 3 but this was a great result for the team ! Well done !

Medals handed out (including the special "Coach getting warned for the 2nd year running" award), tent (and the only slightly damaged "bench") packed away, and heads held high we headed for the Ice Cream van (thanks Coach Adeel !!) which went down well. And most of it (with one notable exception) managed to go into mouths. Luckily the ice cream van happened to be opposite the beer tent. Local Isle of Wight ales you say ? How can one refuse.

Minis photos taken, we drove to the ferry. Just like the previous day, we would saunter on a few minutes before the early ferry. Ah, not this time. But an hour in the pub with chips, iPads and Lager was not chore. We made the 6pm ferry with no drama. Getting off it was another matter, but by the time the news of the stuck coach reach the U7 and U8 coach we were heading fast up the A3.

The all round smiles and handshakes when we arrived back at Reigate said it all.

And Finally

If you have read this far, or just skipped to the bottom, welcome :)

Our ethos of ensuring the kids are safe, have fun but also compete was very much in evidence over the weekend. The boys enjoyed themselves hugely, and despite coming up against larger clubs, and "A teams" we showed what a great set of players we have. We had no substitutes on our sides, and played some hard matches, but having watched all the teams play - each and every boy gave it their all. There were no dropped heads at any time. There were a lot of proud dads.

Of course HUGE thanks to all the coaches and organisers - both from the club and also from Vectis Rugby who put on a brilliant festival.

Without their commitment there would be none of this. Our thanks is heartfelt.

And thanks also to the other Dads on Tour. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves....some more than others... but that is quite another story !