Malta
5th to 15th May 1967

Team

Tony Mason (Sidcup, Joint Tour Manager and Captain), Alan Wright (Joint Tour Manager), George Green, Mike McKerrow (All Sidcup), John Wharton and Tony Whitton (Beckenham), Peter Cook, Martin Farrall and David Hawkes (Richmond), Brian Chappel, Bill Hackett, Phil Siddars and Peter Statt Sutton), R Brooks and R Gerrard (Stafford), Dave Harn, Bob Hart and John Kent (Old Freemans), Randy Bowen and Terry Lewis (Esher), Keith Johnson (Wasps), Hugh Gill (Bromley), Mike Massey (Kersal), Trevor Goslin (Southern), D Chapman (Eastbourne), Steve Tomlin (Penzance & Newlyn) and Alan Raines (Western Super-Mare)

Matches

Match 1 - Penguins 14 - 0 Combined Services

Match 2 - Penguins 34 - 0 Malta

Match 3 - Penguins 3 - 11 RAF Malta

Tour recollections from Steve Tomlin

It was in May and bloody hot. The first 2 matches were played in mid-afternoon and I was a prop, so despite the game being as slow as any I can ever recall, we were all suffering from de-hydration by half time. The next 3 matches kicked off at about 6pm when the sun was setting and were really enjoyable.

All matches were played on the same pitch at the Marsa, which was a general sports ground with a very hard rugby pitch in the middle. It was very much a social rather than serious tour, but I think we won all 5 games. The first was against a Mediterranean forces team, we then played a club called Overseas, who essentially were the hosts, and the last match was against Malta itself. Tony Mason told us it was thus an 'international'.

We all stayed at RAF Luqua in the officers mess - and first morning I got ticked off for not wearing a tie to breakfast, but thereafter, they were very welcoming and even let me sit in the cockpit of a Vulcan bomber, which apparently could carry atomic bombs. We also spent a lot of time on the beach and in the social area called The Gut.

I can only now recall a few players, but the team included Peter Cook (Richmond and England), Dai Hawkes of Richmond, Randy Bowen of Esher, a chap called Bob Brooks who played scrum half for Staffordshire, a few from the Old Alleynians (Trevor Gosling, Martin Farrell and Hugh Gill). Tony Mason made a cameo appearance in at least one match.