Tuesday 22nd April

Another sunny, warm day, who says they get bad weather over here! The day started with a trip to the Holy Island of Lindsfarne – the Cradle of Christianity. The only access to the island is across a causeway which is only passable at low tide. The island has 160 people living there and the old priory stands as a reminder of the significants of the Island to the early Christians. The church has celebrated its 1200th anniversary. The island is also a sanctuary for wildlife including seals.
After the Holy Island we travelled up to Berwick for lunch and from there onto Bamburgh Castle. The Castle has outstanding views of beautiful coastline. The boys all felt a little homesick as they watched the surf roll in across the North Sea. If it was 20 degrees warmer there would have been a chance of a swim.
The team then travelled back to Alnwick to play against Duchess Community School. The boys were a little bit weary from the sightseeing and this showed early in the first half. Duchess scored a couple of early tries with good forward play. However the boys started to click into gear and the forward pack started to assert some authority. This allowed for some clean ball for the backs and we spent a lot of time in their half. Duchess led 15-5 at half time and the boys faced a difficult prospect.
The second half was a different story with the boys running into the wind they lifted and turned the game into their favour with two well executed tries. All Saints hit the lead and it looked like a win was on the cards. However, the game was turned on its head when Duchess scored a try against the run of play taking a lead 22-17 with about eight minutes to go. The All Saints boys kept trying and the belief amongst the team saw an excellent try scored in the corner with only three minutes to go. This levelled the scores and the conversion was missed.
The last play of the game saw the All Saints boys make a big break down the field. They had the chance to win the game but Duchess hung on to leave the game drawn at 22 all. It was a fitting result for what has been our toughest game so far.
The hospitality was again outstanding and we were well looked after. Alnwick is certainly a destination we will put onto any future tours.
Off to Galashiels for the last game of the tour.