Page 10 - Chiron Autumn 2016

It’s my turn for a cuddle for Lt Dave Stewart
1st Military Working Dog Regiment Akrotiri Festival of Rugby 2016
The hot late afternoon sun was beating down on the concrete-like pitch. Sweat was beading on the brow. Heart rate was up, breathing steady and the noise of the crowd had faded to a murmur of white noise as we anticipated the shrill whistle that would signal the kick-off of our rst match of the 2016 Akrotiri Rugby 10s tournament!
But let's start at the beginning...
...In 2015 1 MWD Regiment were invited to the Akrotiri10s tournament in Cyprus and, despite no wins, incredible team spirit and sportsmanship won us a second invite and gave us determination to get some points on the board! Seven days before the rst kick off whistle, 11 jovial souls assembled at St George’s Barracks, North Luffenham to meet tour organisers, Sgt Craig Simpson and SSgt Andy Marsh, ready to get started with training. Most of the squad, it should be noted, had already travelled over from Normandy Barracks, Sennelager. This training week was a gentle mix of rugby and team cohesion; an essential combination to get the troops reacquainted and start getting used to how our teammates would play together, although unfortunately my civilian job meant that I missed this week. However,
by Lt Dave Stewart 101 MWD Squadron
having nished my last night shift on the morning of Friday 20 May, I shot down to rendezvous at the North Luffenham guardroom for 0700hrs and joined the throng of highly excitable, passport- toting, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing, straw-hat- adorned men. We were off!
After a few hours of travel and a couple of questionable meals, we touched down at Paphos International airport. From here a ‘welcome to Cyprus’ Keo beer and short
hop down to RAF Akrotiri had the tour ‘virgins’ in their lovely grass skirts for a night of karaoke in the Aki Arms. It may have been the refreshment, but it turns out that Capt Graham Harvey can really sing!
Saturday saw the team bonding continue with a trip to the local waterpark where the racing slide competition between Pte Billy Illingsworth-Dennis and our illustrious team captain, Sgt Craig Simpson, got serious. The day rounded
10 Chiron Calling
Ready for the off