South Africa
rugby tour
by Nick Gresswell T
wenty-four players and three
members of staff left King's on
Sunday 15th July for a two-week
and five-game tour of South Africa.
Based in both Johannesburg and Cape
Town, the King's squad faced a heavy
schedule of cultural visits and tough
fixtures in this amazing country.
First of all the squad enjoyed a brilliant
two days of team building at the Konka
Camp near Rustenburg, where the British
Lions had played a fixture in 2009. The
camp, and its staff, provided the ideal
environment for the players to get to know
each other and gel together in a
challenging and exciting environment.
Campfire sing-a-longs were a favourite
enjoyed by everyone.
The first fixture against Royal Bafokeng
was set against a stunning backdrop of
beautiful South African scenery. King's
won a keenly fought contest 27-19,
showing a willingness to offload the ball
and play expansive rugby. Ben Shapland
claimed two great tries whilst the 'Old
Boys', Lloyd Griffiths and Omar Hamaoui,
scored well-worked tries out wide.
On travelling back to Johannesburg we
were hosted by the excellent Fourways
High School. Nervous introductions and
tentative handshakes out of the way, the
players were treated to some outstanding
hospitality from their counterparts. During
this time the squad visited the thoughtprovoking
and emotive Apartheid Museum
and gained a valuable insight into the
political and cultural formation of the
Rainbow Nation. Issues of segregation
based on colour and race were brought
vividly to life in this superb exhibition.
On the morning of the Fourways game, a
trip to Gold Reef City for rollercoaster
rides set the tone. Archie Watts found the
excitement a little too much and had an
unfortunate run-in with the bus, resulting in
him missing the next two games after
requiring seven staples to a head wound!
The game started at a blistering pace with
Douglas Denton scoring a fantastic longrange
try, whilst Charlie Snow scored his
debut King's try, followed by Michael Peek.
King's ran out impressive 20-0 winners as
Leo Goodman-Jones slotted some smart
conversions and penalties. We were again
treated to a superb braaiand wonderful
hospitality at the evening function.
A trip to Entabeni Game Reserve to see
the Big Five followed, and the tented
reserve did not disappoint. On the first
evening, as night fell, lions were spotted in
an amazing experience for all concerned.
The next game was in Bredasdorp, an
Afrikaans area three hours outside Cape
Town. Once again we experienced the
most fantastic hosting and got to play a
warm-up session down on the glorious
sand of L'Argulhus, the southernmost
point of Africa where the Indian and
Atlantic oceans meet. Full of confidence
King's took on the big, dynamic
Bredasdorp side on a narrow pitch. In a
tight affair we were 16-6 down with ten
minutes to go. Unfortunately tiredness
and errors crept in and Bredasdorp won
28-6 in the end.
After bidding farewell to our hosts, with
Mr Gresswell trying out his Afrikaans to
the entire school at morning assembly, the
squad returned to Cape Town and the
suburb of Somerset West and Parel Vallei
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