Despite the spectacular lightning storm last night we awoke to a morning of extreme heat and humidity. The mercury peaked at 91°F which in old money is 33°C. The humidity must have been well into the 90s. This brought an immediate worry to the boys as they were due to play rugby later on. Thankfully by the time we reached the Chicago Blaze rugby club the weather was much more suitable to play rugby even though it was still warm. It was great to see the parents and siblings of Marcus Graham, Alex Martin and Matthew Dougherty there to support as well as the aunt and uncle of birthday boy Charlie Marshall. Past pupil Sam Seymour (brother of another past pupil and top try scorer in the recent Lions tour Tommy Seymour) also came to support. They witnessed two fantastic victories and the reports and photos appear below.
Once again we are indebted to our hosts for their fantastic hospitality and to ex Ballynahinch rugby player and now Chicago native Ryan McBride for organising everything. The true spirit of touring was shown afterwards as both sets of players exchanged various items of kit. The usual singing and dice rolling was well received by our hosts. It is amazing how many times the dice landed on the number one (this meant the person who rolled it had to dance). An ecstatic group return to our accommodation and before bedtime the last court session took place. As before the group showed great sense of humour and all got involved in the good nature of court.
Tomorrow is our last full day of tour #sadface (I need to get down with the kids) We leave early for a day in downtown Chicago which includes a tour of Soldier Field which was the venue of Ireland’s historic victory against New Zealand last November.
Once again we are indebted to our hosts for their fantastic hospitality and to ex Ballynahinch rugby player and now Chicago native Ryan McBride for organising everything. The true spirit of touring was shown afterwards as both sets of players exchanged various items of kit. The usual singing and dice rolling was well received by our hosts. It is amazing how many times the dice landed on the number one (this meant the person who rolled it had to dance). An ecstatic group return to our accommodation and before bedtime the last court session took place. As before the group showed great sense of humour and all got involved in the good nature of court.
Tomorrow is our last full day of tour #sadface (I need to get down with the kids) We leave early for a day in downtown Chicago which includes a tour of Soldier Field which was the venue of Ireland’s historic victory against New Zealand last November.