Two and a half years after plans were first put in motion for the Terenure College RFC Junior Rugby tour of Warsaw, a group of 25 players, ex-players and Les Devlin’s entourage finally made it to Dublin Airport in mid-September, heading back to the familiar surroundings of Vienna.
The Austrian capital, or specifically Flanagan’s bar in the Austrian capital, had also been the venue for the two most recent junior tours in 2015 and 2016. With the statute of limitations passed for anything that happened on those previous trips, it was now apparently safe to return.
The mood was febrile even a week out from departure. Fuzzy – or Alan Field for the few who don’t know him – had been keeping us updated on the Indian summer conditions we should be expecting; 31 degree weather, and sun dancing across the Danube, ideal for a Saturday afternoon at Prater Park where we could wind down after Friday night’s match, and a Sunday riding hot rods and Italian scooters around the city.
Within a few days, there was a reality check. Rain, wind and then more rain. Leaving Dublin Airport early on Friday morning, we hopped into Ryanair’s DeLorean and landed sometime in mid-January. Sideways rain, wind howling, and temperatures in the single digits, with Accuweather’s app informing us that the ‘Real Feel’ was a balmy 2C.
Still, those conditions are ripe for Junior Rugby, and after dropping our bags off at our hotel, the group broke up and made our separate ways for Vienna Celtic Rugby Club. Some of the group found time to stop along the way to make sure they were fully ‘hydrated’. Others were more professional and grabbed a nutritious pre-match McDonalds at the train station.
Remarkably, we all made it there in one piece, and after a very necessary warm-up we were ready to play. With the wind blowing right across the pitch, it was a brutally difficult game to play in, but after Robbie Hyland pick-pocketed a Vienna player to run in and score our opening try, we then followed it up with a cracking team score, showing brilliant handling through multiple phases, before the ball eventually went wide to Tommy Lyster who burned his way into the corner.
After the first two 20-minute blocks, we were mercifully informed that the game would be curtailed to a 60-minute match, but after making a hash of the restart we let our hosts in for a cheap score, cutting our lead to 12-7.
A long day of traveling was taking its toll, and some of our players were – for want of a better term – becoming tired and emotional, and after some disagreements with the referee, the opposition, and indeed ourselves, we were back under our own posts soon after, trailing 14-12 with around 10 minutes to go.
That second try put manners on us, and as we chased a winning score we played some of our best rugby of the night. However, despite coming close with a brilliant maul in the final minute, we fell just short as our hosts, Vienna Celtic, edged a great game on what was a tough night for rugby.
There had been one or two disagreements between the sides early in the second half, but any tensions were soon dissolved after several boxes of pizza were delivered to our changing rooms after the game. After those were devoured, our hosts put on a great welcome for us in their clubhouse, where the beer and chat flowed before we made our way back into the city to cap off the night at Fuzzy’s bar, where several of the Vienna Celtic crew joined us.
The weather continued to disrupt our best laid plans on Saturday, with an evening watching games out at Donau Rugby unfortunately scrapped due to the unprecedented rain that was hitting the city.
There was a sensible realisation that sitting on barstools for the entire day might not be the best move, but in hindsight, going on an open-top bus tour of the city probably wasn’t our best call either. After being rained on for the guts of an hour, we abandoned the bus at Prater Park, an amusement park in the city that on any other weekend would have been worth a visit. On this weekend, it resembled a scene from the Walking Dead.
After the entire tour party crammed into a small kebab shop for 40 minutes where we were fed and watered, we made our way out to Donau Rugby Club, who maintained their invite to bring us out for some drinks and a tour of their new clubhouse, and our host Mato kept the beer flowing as we warmed up both literally and figuratively.
Another long night followed in Flanagan’s, during which our youngest tourist Scott O’Reilly finally succumbed to the pressure of minding the tour mascot, Klaus, a small cuddly lamb that was bought in Dublin Airport.
On Sunday, the party made its way back to our Flanagan’s base in dribs and drabs, and when the rain finally stopped late that afternoon, some of the more cultured tourists joined Fuzzy on a walking tour of Austria’s beer houses. Shortly after 9pm, grievances were aired and scores were settled as Judge Paul Crossan laid down the law in court, although he was kept honest by a sensational performance from defence lawyer Robbie Darker.
Even four days of rain couldn’t dampen Vienna 2024 being a roaring success, and all 25 of the touring party made it home without any element of the weekend becoming an “And finally…” story at the end of a new bulletin, which is all anyone can ask for.
On a more serious note, touring is a huge part of our sport and for many of us it was our first time going away on camp as part of the Terenure College RFC family. It certainly won’t be the last, either.
Finally, there are a lot of ‘Thank Yous’ to be handed out. First, a big thanks to Les Devlin who did the heavy lifting with Paddy Baird at Killester travel to make it all happen, while we also had two great host clubs at Vienna Celtic and Donau Rugby.
And the last word has to be reserved for Alan Field – Fuzzy – and his brilliant, endlessly patient staff at Flanagan’s bar, who provided us with the perfect base camp. We’ll be back!