Welcome home to the players who participated in this year’s Oktoberfest 7s. The tour seems to get better each year, and this time we had the benefit of having a full 12 man squad to choose from.

The weekend kicked off with the now traditional Captain’s Dinner on Leopoldstrasse in the Schwabing area of the city. This is the posh part of town with lots of great restaurants, cafe’s and bars. Our favourite restaurant, Wirtzhaus zur Brez’n, had a table for 12 waiting for us, and over dinner we had a chance to meet new players and also players we have not seen since last year’s edition. A number of players drove in their cars, from France and northern Germany. There were train rides from Amsterdam, and to have everyone around the table after coming such a long way was great to see.

Dinner was followed with a change into our team shirts and a visit to the « Shamrock Bar » close by, for the pre-match reception and some karaoke fun. Dominique in particular showed his talents on the microphone, and this was the first of many entertaining moments he provided on tour, usually involving singing and/or dancing.

After a pretty dull and wet night in the campsite, we woke on Saturday with the rain still falling so heavily that we wondered if the tournament would even happen. In any case we made our way faithfully to the rugby grounds, and turned out to be just in time, as many of the other teams were also late.

Our first game against a Swiss team from Luzern went well, and we were 3 tries ahead at half time. It was a great start to our tournament, and I had high hopes at that point. We finished the game 5-0 winners, playing some nice rugby. Unfortunately this did not prepare us well for the next game – our most difficult of the day – against hosts, Munich Rugby.

An interception early on gifted them an easy try, and this was a terrible start from which we never recovered. They scored twice in each half, and used the width of the field well. But the biggest difference they had was their aggression in the contact area. We were unprepared for this, and failed to counter the strength of the Munich players at ruck time.

The third game against an American army side from Naples saw a great sevens rugby performance from us. With the weather improving a little by now, we managed to score 5 or 6 unanswered tries. The opposition was strong in some areas, but lacked the rugby knowledge and team work we displayed. That was a satisfying win and our last game before lunch.

Lunch time was a barbeque with plenty of meat, and let’s just say that after lunch, we were all probably more in the mood for sleeping than playing rugby. Without much time for the play off game, we were still digesting our food when it kicked off. It turned out to be a tiring game, but Dominique once again provided some sunlight by scoring our only try with still four minutes to go. A super try wide out from 70 metres, it reminded us of how it feels to score. Sadly we did not profit from this, and in the end finished up losing by three tries to one, and our tournament was over.

The benefit of leaving the tour early is of course that we can begin our beer tasting early!!
Our scheduled date at the LowenbrauKeller did not disappoint.
Everybody got to sample the unique atmosphere, and see how the barmaids dress at this great beerhall. Again, we witnessed over a thousand people of all ages dancing, drinking, and standing up on their chairs to raise a glass to ‘Ein Prozit’.

This beerhall also has an attached nightclub.. it was here that David discovered that the German girls can indicate if they are single by how they tie the knot on their traditional apron! After that, everything was easier!!

The tournament weekend concluded on Sunday morning, with players making their way home, and some players missing in action! Some of us made it to breakfast in the Ratskeller under the MarianPlatz town hall. Great location, but we will try to have a fixed goodbye breakfast next year to conclude the tour.

In spite of the weather, it was another great weekend of rugby and beer in one of the great European cities. Our thanks to all who came. We look forward to seeing you next year.

Other photo albums:

• Mike Molloy
• MRFC

Samedi 21 Août 2010 : Tournoi Adultes de Beach rugby

Inscriptions

Rendez vous 10h00 Plage des sablettes au pied de la vieille ville de Menton, pour les inscriptions (7 EUROS par personne).Une équipe doit comporter au minimum 7 joueurs et 10 maximum.

Programme et inscriptions

• Inscription 10h00.
• Annonce des poules 10h25.
• Début du tournoi 10h30.
• Pause repas 12h30.
• Reprise du tournoi 14h00.
• Remise des prix 17h00.

Note -

• Utilisation de chaussures de sport recommandées.
• Présence d’une buvette et d’un point restauration sur le site du Webb Ellis Beach Rugby. Possibilité à l’inscription du matin de réserver son panier repas. 5 Euros = 1 sandwich + 1 boisson.