Tottonians victorious on 2026 Sofia tour

Tottonians returned from their 2026 tour of Sofia victorious as they defeated the 22-time national champions Lokomotiv Sofia 77-29 in a very enjoyable, fun game of rugby.

It would be hugely unfair to take too much glory as the hosts were decimated by absences, ahead of their National League game on Sunday some 200km away and a number of players were caught in a landslip in the Rhodope Mountain range – playing with 13 players and assisted by a number of the tourists, in particular Danny Drake, who played the full 80 minutes in the red and black!

Refereeing without a whistle, Nick Penny got the game under way in front of an expectant crowd on the sidelines made up of the remaining tourists and a handful of supporters from the home side.

Rich Buck got the game under way on the scoreboard before Tom Tully added a second.  The Bulgarians hit back with a well worked score but the rest of the half saw Totts run wild with scores from Mike Searle, Dan Cooper and Buck with his second gave the visitors a 29-5 interval lead.

First time tourist Mason Beech went over before the hosts added their second – through Connor Andrews, who donned the home kit for a spell.  Rich O’Donnell, Mike Searle and Beech with their second scores and then Tom Dando added to the list.

Connor scored his second for Lokomotiv to cut the arrears to 50 points and they came on strongly in the last quarter, scoring twice more separated by Buck getting his hat-trick and Alex Whitley running in the last of the 13 tries for Tottonians.

With referee Nick calling a halt to proceedings, Tottonians claimed the 77-29 victory and made their way to the Lokomotiv clubhouse for an excellent BBQ and plentiful beers before moving back to the various Sofian hostelries.

Thank you to Lokomotiv Sofia for their hospitality and the excellent game.

TOTTONIANS POINT SCORERS:
TRIES: Rich Buck (3), Mike Searle (2), Mason Beech (2), Tom Tully, Dan Cooper, Liam Murphy, Rich O’Donnell, Tom Dando, Alex Whitley
CONVERSIONS: Mike Searle (2), Liam Murphy, Rich O’Donnell, Tom Dando

Here are a selection of Richard’s pictures from the game ….