James Tozer writes: "With the big match drawing ever closer, we were granted our first free morning of the tour, in which to rest, recuperate and reflect before the Cardinal Newman showdown. Some seized the opportunity to visit the illustrious Buenos Aires zoo with Mr Hulme, at the heady price of 4 pesos; others paid a visit to the local market; all watched various video analysis seminars given by Messrs McLennan and Lambert in preparation for the afternoon. We arrived at Newman's impressive sporting facility at 2.15 - with Charlie Redwood's enormous fluffy purchase "Derek the Duck" in tow - well in time for a simultaneous 4.00 kick-off.

The XV ran out with a slightly changed side due to a couple of injuries / rotations. A solid start was overturned when Newman opened the scoring, following a series of missed tackles from a kick return. The touring side hit back immediately, with Paddy Cavanagh-Butler charging through flailing tackles to equalise in fine fashion. Despite a fairly evenly matched opening third, Newman led at the break thanks to another score and high penalty count, and resisted heavy Eton pressure in the second half only to add another try towards the end. With the side hit by multiple injuries before and during the match, and at one point playing with 14 men, this was a display of great heart and commitment, even if it ended in defeat 24-8 to a well-drilled and highly organised team."

Jamie Wilson writes: "The 2nd XV match against Cardinal Newman was a tough fought affair. There were unfortunately a few minor injuries which meant that we had no more substitutes for most of the game. We were dazzling in parts with some mazy running by Sam Williams earning him a try and some aggressive defence from Charlie Hobhouse and Charlie Dudgeon. Alas, we were let down by an exceptionally high penalty count and interesting local interpretations of the ruck area. There were some periods of wonderful powerful running from Nick Doman and Josh Ballantine-Dykes. We led 14-7 at half time but sloppy errors and a lack of composure let the opposition take a ten point lead with a few minutes to go. A great piece of counter attacking and a good finish by Teddy Sasada took us to only 3 points back but it was too little too late as the referee blew the final whistle to signal a 29-26 loss. It was still a good team performance and if it weren't for a few mistakes then we could well have won.

Despite recording two losses, the touring party decided to make the most of Henry Ashcroft's final evening before flying home. A night out at the docks - with a variety of top-notch, haute-cuisine eating facilities on offer - proved successful, with the group returning quietly homeward at 11.00. Needless to say, all were quickly fast asleep.
----------------------------------------
This email and any attachments might contain information that is
confidential or protected by legal privilege. We advise that you carry
out your own virus checks before opening any attachment.
Eton College is a charity registered with HMRC under number X6839.
Eton College, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 6DJ