28th Mar till 1st Apr 2024
The Malta Youth Rugby Festival is back, it has been a long journey getting this event back together but we are glad to have hosted 8 teams during this year’s event. Rugby in Malta is a small sport, and such events give a great opportunity for the local youths to experience the game in the right spirit.
During this event, one of our main aims is to expose the great culture of rugby in a competitive environment with respect, friendship and comradery as the main goal.
We planned 2 days of rugby including a 15s round robin for both u15 and u18 teams and also a 7s event to finish off with.
On day one we welcomed Llantwit Major U15 RFC from Wales, this was the first group to arrive on the island. On their first day, they enjoyed a full day in Gnenja Bay, in the north-west of the island and surrounded by breathtaking cliffs. The teams enjoyed the soothing vibe of the beach with live music, some beach rugby, and swimming in the sea before having a picnic on the sandy beach. This was followed by a water sports party, where the boys got a pleasant kayak trip along the beautiful coast to the Ta’ Marija Cave and enjoyed amazing banana and slider rides behind the fast power boats. The boys had a lot of fun and it was a great start to their adventures on our islands.
The rest of the visiting teams arrived on the next day, Winscombe U15 RFC, Shoreham U18 RFC, Beccles RFC U18, Shrewsberry U15 RFC, Saltash U15 RFC all travelling from England. After checking in and having dinner at the hotel, all groups were transferred to the Mighty Watson’s Pub, where all the team managers had a meeting to go through the format of the tournament and all the final details before the competition commenced. This was the ice breaker as all teams bonded and exchanged stories, games, and singalongs in a very friendly and fun atmosphere. The karaoke sounds were buzzing one after the other. It was a memorable night for all groups to meet in the same place, catch up about rugby and also to size the opponent up, which made it quite intense and built up the anticipation for this youth festival.
The next day, the first part of the eagerly awaited rugby festival started with the 15s round, where all the clubs (U15 and U18) played their games simultaneously on 2 natural turf pitches in Marsa. The competition was really intense across all age groups, with Shoreham U18 RFC coming out on top in the U18s round, while Beccles U18 RFC and Kavallieri U18 RFC followed in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. In the U15s round Winscombe U15 RFC got the Champions title, with Llantwit Major U15 RFC following closely as runners up and Shrewsbury U15 RFC in 3rd place. All teams showed great spirit and fair play during and after the tournament. After the 15s event, as is custom, we held the third half on pitch side, with some great games that everyone enjoyed and joined in for.
On the 2nd day, all teams split into 2-3 7s squads and we ran a 7s tournament in both age groups with 10 teams in the U15 and 5 teams in the U18 category. Once again the competition was fair and we saw a lot more flair and running rugby, just as the 7s version of the game allows. The U18 round was won by Beccles B U18 RFC with Shoreham B RFC in runners up place. In the 15s section Winscombe B U15 RFC won the final against Llantwit Major U15 RFC who finished in 2nd place. At the end of the day, a fascinating awards ceremony was held. During the ceremony, trophies were given to the winning and runner up teams and then, the event organiser, throwed in several games and events to entertain the teams on pitch side.
After the awards ceremony, the groups made their way to the Marsa Sport Club, where they enjoyed a delicious barbecue dinner followed by some music and party games for all. To conclude this amazing tour, the groups were invited to a full-day boat party organised by Sundreams Travel, which allowed the groups to visit some of Malta's beautiful beaches. Starting from Comino’s Crystal and Blue Lagoon, the groups were allowed to go into the waters and enjoy a swim while also snacking on some Maltese delicacies prepared by Sundreams Chef Valentina. Later that day, the group sailed to the pretty Ramla Bay, where the yatch anchored for several hours.
The group enjoyed a barbecue lunch, some music, some party games involving costumes and some more time swimming time. Throughout the day, the bar offered non alcoholic cocktails and soft drinks to keep everyone fresh and hydrated, as well as a fruit salad, all of these to the rhythm of the music provided by our favourite DJ Alex. All the teams present totally enjoyed and commended this rugby experience as one of the best they had been on. It has been a pleasure for us to host you all and we hope to see you on our shores again soon, for yet another great event in rugby, sun and fun. The comments from all leaders, players and family members were very positive and thankful. All the Sundreams Travel team would like to thank all participants, the boat party was a really great way to end the tour and we all enjoyed being of service to a unique and fun crowd, just as rugby always provides. Bring on 2025.
Do you have great snaps of this event? Add your own pictures to this gallery by sending them to us by email with Malta Youth Rugby Festival 2024 in subject line.
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I’d like to pass on a huge thank you from everyone at Llantwit Major RFC Under 15’s, I can assure you that we had an absolutely fantastic time and this was down to hard work of your team. Away from the rugby the activities were top notch and the players and parents enjoyed them all. The rugby competition was superbly run and was a fantastic event that has helped the players make some proper friends. I know our boys have remained in contact with both Saltash and Shrewsbury players, we also have some fantastic footage of the combined teams singing back at the hotel on the Saturday night.
Do you wish to share your experience? Send us your comments by email with french students in subject line.
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