Hunters Hill Junior Rugby Club's U11 Pirates and Mosman Junior Rugby Club's U11 Sharks left Mascot airport in high spirits on the morning of Thursday 27 May bound for Shanghai to play in the Kellogg's LCM's Junior Challenge Cup on Saturday 29 May.

We arrived in Shanghai at 6.30pm local time. The first thing about Shanghai which the boys (and the parents) noticed was the quality of the air - not for Shanghai the clear blue skies we can still sometimes see in Sydney. The boys could also see that for 15 million plus people to fit into the city of Shanghai, the living conditions were quite different from what they are used to here.

The next day, after a half day tour of the city, the boys headed off for a training session at the Shanghai FTZ Football Club. The Club warmly welcomed everyone and put on a barbecue for us after the training session. Nick Farr-Jones who was in Shanghai for the events, came straight from a luncheon speaking engagement and donned his footy gear for a run with the boys, then rolled up his sleeves and helped cook our barbecue.

Nick Farr-Jones and some of the tourists.

Saturday - the big day: The Shanghai FTZ Football Club (SFC) hosted the day as part of its commitment to the development of rugby in China. The junior match, along with other senior matches - the Beijing Foreign Devils vs the Shanghai Sports Institute, Shanghai Women's Exhibition Touch Rugby, and the People's Republic of China vs the Steinlager Shanghai Hairy Crabs - was a curtain raiser to the Glenmore SFC Challenge Cup played by the Randwick and Gordon first grade teams. The U11 teams were the world's first junior sides to visit China where rugby has been endorsed as the official game of the Red Army. The Chinese were so interested in the junior rugby that the boys were scheduled to play twice - their main match at 11.45am and another two 10 minute halves at 2.40pm just before the Randwick vs Gordon game.

The crowd comprised ex-pats from various countries, staunch Randwick and Gordon supporters who had travelled to Shanghai for the game, and Chinese nationals, including several Chinese officials and dignitaries.

The boys were warmly encouraged by the enthusiastic crowd as Troy Adams scored 3 tries and Cameron Handford and Tom Keeble each scored 1 try, helping the Hunters Hill Pirates to bring home the inaugural Kelloggs LCM's Junior Challenge Cup with a 25-20 win. Both the Pirates and the Sharks were honoured to be presented with certificates by the Vice-Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Zhou YuPeng. The Australian Consul-General in Shanghai, David Ambrose, was also at the match.

We all stayed in the same hotel as the Randwick and Gordon players. This was like junior rugby heaven for the boys. Every time they stepped into the lift, they were quite likely to meet yet another one or more of the senior players. The senior players were all very kind to the boys and patiently answered all their questions.

While in Shanghai, there was some time to do some local sightseeing in and around Shanghai. Shanghai Milk treated the touring party to a visit to a local 'middle' school, where we watched a singing competition and performed unrehearsed versions of Advance Australia Fair and Waltzing Matilda! Following the competition, where a rendition of Jingle Bells (in English) won the prize, the children (aged from 10 through to 16, used their proficient English skills to act as tour guides for us all.

After a hectic 6 days, we all arrived back in Sydney on the morning of Wednesday 2 June a bit bleary eyed after a 10 hour overnight flight!

Sponsorship and support: The touring teams (and their parents!) are most grateful for the major sponsorship by Kelloggís LCM's. This sponsorship covered a sizeable proportion of the cost of sending the boys on tour.

Thanks must also go to numerous other sponsors, those who donated raffle prizes, and others who supported us with their generosity (including Leightons, The Legends, Gladesville First National Real Estate, North Shore Private Hospital, Cypress Lakes Golf and Country Club, T-Boots Australia, Tech Pacific, Corbinoís Ristorante, L J Hooker Mosman, Regent Hotel Sydney, Toshiba Medical, Union Transport, Cutler Hughes & Harris (Lawyers), Hunters Hill Rotary, Pro-Dive Coogee, North Ryde RSL and the Cockroaches) and everyone who has helped to bring about this world first event in junior rugby.