Supporting the Lithuanian national team at the European Rugby Sevens Championship in Hamburg

Already on the first day of the trip, the team realized that there would be no shortage of adventures. While driving from Lithuania to Germany, one of the crew lost their license plates, so they had to turn around. After finding a local store and buying the necessary tools, the rugby players made new and almost identical license plates. So we could continue the trip. In the evening, the destination was reached, so everyone hurried to have dinner and rest.

After a good night's sleep, everyone had a hearty breakfast and got ready to travel to the cars, because a surprise awaited the team. Hamburg is famous as a city with one of the largest ports in Europe, also known as the "Gateway to the World". So the surprise was a cruise along the Elbe River, Hamburg canals and around the Hamburg port. True, the guide spoke only German, so it was difficult to understand his stories, fortunately, Armandos' father Aurimas understands German and was able to translate. After admiring the views of Hamburg, we entered the port. The dimensions of the ships and the size of the cargo terminal were simply breathtaking. So, after taking in the impressions and taking a picture with the ship's captain, we traveled to the most important event of the day - the European Rugby 7s Championship. The team came not only to admire the highest-level rugby matches, but also to gain experience from the best players, and most importantly - to support the Lithuanian rugby team, so that the rugby players could feel like they were playing at home. Throughout the tournament, we were heard and noticed not only by foreign journalists, but also by broadcast directors and commentators. Although the Lithuanian team failed to beat the French, the Lithuanians put up an honorable fight. After the match, we went to look for a place to swim and refresh ourselves after a hard and exhausting day. Although we only found a swimming pool in the Elbe River, which was cool and full of stones, we managed to refresh ourselves. The team was very lucky that Aidas' father Tomas is able to choose exceptionally wonderful restaurants that would meet the quality and price ratio, so guided by Tomas' voice, we rushed to an Italian restaurant, where we strengthened ourselves and went to the hotel to rest and wait for the next day.

On the third day, we got up and rushed to a restaurant-level breakfast that we cooked ourselves. Every morning, the table resembled a hotel buffet-style breakfast. After breakfast, we went straight to the stadium. It was very interesting for the children and their accompanying parents to watch the best European rugby players play rugby. It was a pity that the Lithuanians did not manage to beat the Great Britain and Belgium teams that day, but the fight was on until the last minutes. While supporting our national team, we made friends with Belgian fans, so we constantly supported each other's teams. Although the Lithuanians lost to the Romanians in the last match of the day, the young rugby players of “VRA-RM Cargo Baltic” gained invaluable experience. After spending the whole day at the stadium, the coaches decided to pamper the youth and took them to McDonald’s for dinner. After getting some strength, we went to rest, because tomorrow was the most important day for the Lithuanian rugby team…

As every morning, after getting plenty of strength, we got ready to go to the stadium where the fight for survival in the strongest top division of the European Championship awaited. On our way to the competition, understanding the importance of the day, we created chants and slogans of support for the rugby players representing our country. As soon as the competition started, we felt the intrigue. The fight was fierce, so there was no shortage of emotions. The youth fiercely supported our country's rugby players, and the biggest climax occurred in the second half when the score was equal and the Lithuanians organized a productive attack and defeated the Czech national team. The day was great, so we went to the hotel to rest and went to have dinner, discuss the trip.

When time is fun, it also flies very quickly. The days just flew by, so getting ready for the return trip was not fun. So, having packed our suitcases and unpacked our equipment, we left for Lithuania.

Such trips are necessary for every team or collective. We are glad that we have energetic people in the collective who are able to organize such trips, so that ideas become reality and both children and their parents can see the highest level of rugby matches.

We would like to thank the parents who traveled with us – Aurimas and Tomas – for their dedication, planning and organizing the trip, and for supporting the Lithuanian rugby team and being together. We also thank Viktoras Voroncovas, Vaidotas Sakalas, Kęstutis Narbutas, without these people the trip would not have happened. Also, a special thank you to Ramūnas Skirmantas, without this person’s efforts we would hardly imagine the existence of the Vilnius Rugby Academy. And of course, to Vidmantas Valis, the author of the implementation of this entire trip, whose drive, efforts and ideas become a reality and we have the opportunity to support and cheer on the Lithuanian rugby-7s team. We are already dreaming and planning the upcoming trips!