Final preparations are underway, the players involved are eagerly anticipating the challenges to come. Having put in a lot of effort with their weekly training and gym sessions, the team is ready to take on three teams from Division 1 of Portugal's Rugby Union.

Highland has put together several international tours for its junior teams in the past, but this marks the first time a senior team from the club has been able to experience anything like this.

The touring side's first match is on Tuesday, March 17th against the Direito RFC of Lisbon. Highland's head coach, Dean Brattan anticipates that this match will be the toughest one of the tour. Direito have won a number of Portuguese championships and will come out hard against the visiting Highland team.

The second match is Thursday , March 19th against the Agraria RFC in Coimbra, located two hours north of Lisbon. Coach Brattan expects this night game should be an exciting one under the lights.

The teams third and final game will be played against Santarem Rugby Club on Saturday, March 21st . Santarem recently opened a new pitch and facility, in fact the game against Highland will be the 1st international match on their new grounds.

Coach Brattan explains, "tours like these truly set a team up for success for the season ahead. It keeps the players focused on rugby, personal training and team activities throughout the winter." He adds, "the men have been on an aggressive training regime that we hope will pay-off not only in Portugal, but also in our own league's regular season."

Brattan believes, "one of the nice things about a tour, is that you can experiment with players in other positions. This gives the coaching staff an opportunity to challenge the players with broadening their understanding of the game. Win or lose, this tour is about furthering the development of our players, and helping them get to the next level as a team, as well as individually."

The club would like to wish these men good luck as they represent Highland overseas!