APRIL always welcomes the hint of Summer but can also provide a thorough drenching. Learning from the experience of last year the Launceston Under-8 rugby team set off for their annual tour of Somerset, Dorset and Bournemouth fully prepared with umbrellas, waterproof coats, thick clothing, shorts, suncream and sunglasses. Last year they needed them all and this year we were not going to get caught out. We were prepared for every climatic outcome and more importantly we were prepared to play rugby, writes Peter Maunder.

As usual we had a fantastic cohort of player who turned out in great numbers, filling a mini-coach with just our team. Again we were the most represented age group who filled the famous black shirts and mums, dads and grandparents who came along to support us should be proud of their dedication to the club and age group, the coaches and reps are really grateful for their support through a long, damp and cold season.

A further bonus to the travelling hordes were the parents who had not been to the children's tours before.

We arrived in Chard for our first series of matches in excellent time and quickly got into our match kit. Due to the perennial problem of an excess of players some boys did not change into their kits, keeping them fresh for the next day's rugby. Doing this ensured that every player who came on tour had at least two full matches and as the days panned out they played more than this due to injuries and exhaustion on Sunday.

There were two matches against Chard and what great fun they were. The players were obviously fired up and ready to represent their shirt and played really well, hoping to catch Coach Craddock's keen, hawk-like eye and be selected for the Bournemouth matches. Right from the start it was obvious that Frankie Bamford wanted selection for Sunday. A series of searing runs and lightning turn over balls resulted in him scoring three early tries, proving his sharpness ready for the next challenge.

We were treated to some superb running rugby and some great support play. James Bickle was playing like a demon. His was staying in his position but whenever there was a breakdown near the opposition try line he seemed to have magic hands that attracted the ball. He scored four magnificent poacher's tries, all through being in the right place at the right time. It was a stunning return for James and he thoroughly deserved his haul. It was unfortunate his dad was away refereeing in Bridgwater, but mum and big sister were there to witness what dad missed.

Ross Striplin was also in fine form, running straight and true, smashing holes in the Chard defence and setting up others to score. Over the course of the two matches Chard proved to be the stronger team, Launceston did use a rotation policy to preserve the little legs and also to ensure that everyone had game time. Coach Craddock is a shrewd canny operator who plans his campaigns with military precision.

Sam Bates was another player who shone, over the two matches he managed to score five tries, again by running straight and supporting the player with the ball. The other try scorers for Launceston were Berin Howard, Ross Striplin, Harvey Fry, Lawrence Armstrong, Olivia Parham, Charlie Short, Sam Lang.

If my notes scribbled in the heat of battle are to be believed, only Louis Sampson failed to score a try but with his straight bull-dozing runs he did set up many of the scoring opportunities, he also showed some fire ready for next year, ripping the ball from a member of the opposition with a ferocity not seen before (and luckily not seen by the ref!).

For the Chard matches, the Tregida Smokehouse Players of the Match were Ross Striplin for his disciplined straight running and to James Bickle for scoring four tries – that his dad missed.

After the match we were treated to some wonderful Somerset hospitality and to thank our hosts and to treat the boys, some of the dads organised a game of veterans' tag rugby. Looking at some of the veterans playing the 'tag' rugby and considering the amount of refreshments consumed prior to the match, it was not too surprising when the rules about no-contact were relaxed. It was a treat for the boys to observe such athletes perform in their prime but as a master class in how to play the game, perhaps it was not the complete lesson they should follow. It was successful as no-one needed hospital treatment and most players left the field with the same number of teeth as they entered.

l A report of Launceston Under-8s at the Bournemouth Festival will appear in next week's edition.