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Stoufl'ville District Secondary School rugby players check out England, from the London Eye during break. Stouflville Secondary rugby boys’ eyes opened by culture, level of play in Great Britain Good times. For 31 boys’ rugby players and four coach- es representing Stoufiville District Secondary School, their recent 12-day excursion to Engâ€" land and Wales was simply “amazing”. The players and theif eoaches played exhi- bition games, watched a couple of profesâ€" sional games and went sightseeing. Other touring Ontario schools that played schools from England and Wales fared far worse. Bear Creek Secondary School (Barrie) was drubbed 55-0 byWelbeck And, head coach Iarfiie Hewitt said the players served as goodwill ambassadors for Stoufiville. “It was definitely a trip of a lifetime not just for the rugby, but the culture, too. The billets that we had were “great,” Mr. Hewitt said. “And the kids Were so well behaved. Our entire coaching staff was proud of their behav- iour. It was top notch.” The Spartans firsts fell 22-19 to Brecon High School of Wales, 19-14 to Isleworth and Syon School, 19- 12 to Welbeck College and 13â€" 0 to John Cleveland College of Hinkley. The Spartans seconds, however, defeated the Isleworth and Syon School seconds 15- 10 and Welbeck College 15-5 before losing to John Cleveland College 5-0 and Brecon High School 25-10. During thé trip, the team was divided into two groups. As well, Bmck High School of Cannington, Most excellent adventure BY MIKE HAYAKAWA Staff Writer SUNâ€"TRIBUNE PEOPLE a team» the Spartans face each year, lost 70-0 to John Cleveland. “The calibre (of rugby) was something," Mr. Hewitt said. “We might see one, two or three games of that nature here. “But over there It’s at a different level. “It’s like hockey here where kids over there start playing rugby when they’re five years old." In addition to the action on the pitch, the Spartans watched two premiership games, one in Watford, near London, featuring the Saracens, a first division club. The other featured London Scottish, a Divi- sion 2 team. ' The coaching staff of Mr. Hewitt, Rob Edmondson, Glenn Tarver and Tom Mint- chev, was treated to a Six Nations Cup grand slam final between Wales and France with 78,000 others at Millennium Stadium in Car- diff, Wales. “It was the best live sporting event that I’ve ever been to.” Mr. Hewitt said. “The whole atmosphere...the singing by the fans, it was fantastic." ‘It's like hockey here when kids over there start playing rugby when they‘re five years old.’ 8088' Jamie Hewitt on overseas talent PHOTOS COURTESY STOUFFVILLE SECONDARY Stouffville Secondary’s Chris Boake, Chris Lombardo (3) and Stephen )eschke lift Alex Mangotich (left) during game at Welbeck Col- lege in England last week. ........... pswsmmmlm'mzzzgog Stouffvllle firefighters not collecting money Have something to say about these or other stories? E-mail us at jmason@ynng.com If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to raise funds for the “Stoufiville Fire Department”, you can be sure the call is fraudulent. While Whitchurch-Stouffvilie Fire and Emergency Services support many worth causes, the department never solicits funds by phone, Deputy Chief Rob McKenzie said. He’s warning people to be aware of these phone calls and not to give out any information about themselves. “Sometimes seniors are tar- geted," he said. If you're between 13 and 17 and looking for something to do Thesday evenings, you can come to a new youth program starting April 1. If you do receive one of these calls, call Mr. McKenzie at 905- 640-9595. You can decide whether to play basketball, volleyball, floor hockey or badminton in a gym of the new Stoufl’ville Distn'ct Sec- ondary School. Recreation for teenagers An instructor will be present every week, recreational pro- grammer Jen McEachen said. The Town of Whitchurch- Stouflville leisure services pro- gram runs 10 weeks from 7:30 to 9 pm. on Thesdays. “We want to promote more programs for the younger teen- agers,” Ms McEachen said. If there is enough response to this new program, it will likely run again in the fall and winter. For more youth programs, go to townofws.com Whitchurchâ€"Stouffville News Digest Cost for the program is $80 for 10 weeks and $35 for six weeks. Call Ms McEachen at 905â€"640â€" 1900, mm Wsit yorkregion.com for more on these and other stories SOUND OFF