CRICKHOWELL RFC recently had the honour of being invited to represent Wales in the European City of Sport Tournament in Setubal, Portugal, despite failing to raise a team last season.
Determined not to let the opportunity pass by, stalwarts of the club rallied round, and with the addition of invited friends, a squad flew out in mid-June. Other teams in the tournament hailed from the top leagues in Portugal and Spain.
The games were played in a large stadium in searing heat and lasted for 20 minutes each half. In the first round, Crickhowell beat their hosts Setubal by 17 points to 10. They then went on to play a Spanish side from Zaragoza - who had nicknamed themselves “The Bone-Crushers”.
Crick managed to crush them, however, with a scoreline of 14-3. The next day saw them play another Portuguese side, Caiscais who were brushed aside 30-0. The final, was once again played against Caiscais who this time were a little better prepared but Crickhowell still ran out the victors by 12-5.
Beach rugby was also played, along with a game of mixed players from all teams. Their Setubal hosts hospitality was praised by Chairman Steve Carrington, who said: "Our hosts were magnificent and couldn’t do enough for us. We were even treated to a civic reception."
With the prospect of an eagerly anticipated return visit next year, pre-season training has now started on Thursday evenings at 7pm at Parc Broyd where a warm welcome will be extended to all who wish to help resurrect the team for the 2016-17 season.