FARNHAM Rugby Club’s minis tour is returning this year.

The ‘Cosmic Tour’ will see 518 members of the minis section, parents, players and siblings, go to Ladram Bay in Devon from March 4 to 6.

The tour sold out in under eight minutes. The touring party will stay on site at Ladram Bay holiday park – which has its own beach, indoor pool, soft play, arcade, bars and restaurants to keep everyone happy on site.

The rugby fixtures will be hosted by Topsham and Chard Rugby Club’s, and include the popular coaches’ match where the children get to cheer on their coaches for once instead of the other way round.

The Saturday night will see the traditional dance battle between the age groups.

This year’s tour has received supportive messages from Rugby Football Union chairman Tom Ilube and ex-England and British & Irish Lions player Simon Shaw. The tour is sponsored by Sandown Mercedes, law firm Stevens & Bolton, accountants Wise & Co, FatFace, Kumon Farnham, and Greenshields JCB.

This year’s tour committee had their own pandemic challenges to face.

Having gambled on the tour being allowed to run and no lockdown in March, they had only six months to pull it all together. Unreliable sea freight, Covid safety, and the need to organise at speed has made it a challenging tour to get lift off on.

The organising team includes Pete Wright, Antony White, Lisa Humphries, Anne Mills, Claudia Wright, Tom Clayton-Shepherd, Lindsay Walls and Sophia Spencer.