The University of York Rugby Union Football Club

The squad unpacked then headed over to the local pub for some team bonding. Followed by a delightful meal of a baked potato with choice of several toppings the squad were given options to do as they pleased for the evening. Some remained at the hostel to recover from the long drive while others part took in the local pub quiz, with two different teams, one led by the President, Rob Grant, and the other by the senior member of the club Pete Nathan. The teams came a respectable 4th and 5th out of 7 teams…

The next day began at 8am with bananas and toast, followed by a run to the local football pitch for some early morning fitness. Organised by the old Captain Mike Callis, the squad proceeded in stretching and exhausting themselves with plyometrics.

The Current captain Alex Redshaw then took the team through physical endurance tests with all the squad members again pushing themselves to the limit. This was with the exception of a particular member of the squad, William Felgate, who was pushing himself in a different manner…

Senor Bugge then produced a kings worth of porridge and while this was enough for most, once again a particular member of the squad (Mr Felgate) came up with the invention of Banana topped up with maple syrup… Yes you heard it first by the UYRUFC!

The afternoon consisted of a lightweight session running through drills and getting set plays at the local Bangor Rugby Club.

Chef Thomas Morris with his sous chef Gruffudd Jones got very close while making a delicious Chilli con Carne which went down well with the boys. If you would like the services of Thomas Morris please email the club at press@uyrufc.co.uk and if it is a large booking Mr Morris and convince his sous chef to join him, in his own “special” way.

The following day was our “Rest” day. So it was decided that the club should partake in a stroll, up Snowdonia. The rest day consisted of a luxury swim for the captain Redshaw and Ben Innes in the lake at the mid point of the journey up the mountain.

There were many stops for the UYRUFC centre Gruffudd Jones taking the opportunity to supply the natural world with enough nutrients for the next month.

Having got to the top after 3 hours of walking through the wind and rain, the team soon discovered that the train wasn’t running on that day and had to face the barbaric weather for another 2-3 hours.

Before this though a chorus of “Sunshine Mountain” was sung to cheer up the crowds at the mountain town cafe, although fun was had by all members the the feelings were not mutual with the follow climbers.

With a moment of all the squad behind a singular pillar hiding from the rain the walk down was gentle, to say the least.

The final day of the Training Camp was at the Colwyn Bay Stadium where the UYRUFC took on Wales U20s. Although a tight game throughout the game was stopped after a horrendous injury to their number 8.

Particular mentions for the game were Richard Welsh who played in all thirds of the game, and Alistair Handy had a particularly good game with his first match of the season.

Many thanks go to the Captain of the UYRUFC Alexander Redshaw whose organisation of the training Camp was fantastic, bringing together a team who are looking towards new horizons and hopefully making this one of the strongest UYRUFC squads for a very long time. Although one thing could be said for his rest day options…

Keep Following the UYRUFC throughout the season and you can post your favourite stories on the UYRUFC forum on Facebook.