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| The South Africa Tour Squad |
South African Tour blog will appear here once the tour gets underway!
Editor's note :
Sunday, 10th August
The squad left this morning. They're on their way! Be sure to check back soon for the first blog entry!
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Monday, 11th August - 1st blog entry
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Wednesday, 13th August - 2nd blog entry
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After a late breakfast, the squad boarded the bus and travelled to Langa Township for our community matches. We received a warm welcome from Eric, our guide around the settlement, who gave a passionate history and tour of Langa to the SMH squad. The pupils were given a guided tour of the settlement and an excellent lunch provided by Sheila in the Lelapa restaurant.
We travelled to Zimsasi school for our netball matches. What a welcome.......
The entire school surrounded the court to support the home team. Our girls played well in the circumstances against their Under 14 team.
The girls tried hard in difficult surroundings, and it provided a good start to the tour.
Netball: Under 12, Lost 8-4
Under 13, Lost 8-7
The boys we next to play at the Langa rugby pitch. The opposition was extremely quick with excellent hands. Our forward play was good and we scored a good try under the posts from a series of mauls, however, the oppositions scored from loose play to level the match. We did well in the second half to score another forward try but a missed touch with the final play of the game allowed the fullback to score the try to leave the final score 14-14. The boys played well and learned from the match.
The afternoon finished with a return match against the Zimsasi Under 14 hockey team. SMH played a mixed U12/U13 11 aside game. We approached game with determination and desire to win. The girls performed exceptionally and adapted well to the 11 a side game. Great attacking play was seen by the forwards, resulting in a final score of SMH 5 - Zimsasi 0.
We returned to our hotel in high spirits after an exhausting and enlightening day to enjoy a hearty meal at a waterfront restaurant.
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Thursday, 14th August - 4th blog entry
After an enlightening and rewarding day at Langa Township, the tour party checked out of our hotel and enjoyed a relaxing day on the beach at Camps Bay. The children played touch rugby, American Football or made sandcastles on the beautiful golden sand before moving to our first set of hosts at Sweet Valley Primary School. Our welcome was extremely warm and our pupils departed in pairs to their host families.
Tomorrow, we play our second match and the children are raring to go......
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Friday, 15th August - 5th blog entry
The tour squad played Sweet Valley School today. The games were close.
Netball 5-5 Draw
Hockey 2-3 Loss
Rugby 0-17 Loss
The children played well and enjoyed the warm hospitality of the hosts. Many pupils were invited to traditional braii with the opposition. We have just returned from a fascinating tour around Robben Island. More details to follow......
Monday, 18th August - 6th blog entry
The trip around Robben Island was a truly moving experience. We were shown around the prison by Eric, a former prisoner who gave the tour party an informative tour which went via Nelson Mandela's former cell. A truly memorable event. We then travelled to Somerset West to meet our first set of hosts at Sweet Valley School.
The welcome was warm and friendly and our pupils left to spend time with their opposite player. The next morning we spent time travelling around the area sightseeing and returned in the afternoon to play our second match. The girls played their hockey match at Cape Town University astro and a tight match ended in a narrow loss. The boys were next on the field and were welcomed by some physical forwards. Our boys performed really well and came off with another narrow loss. The netball team had learned a lot from the previous match and moved the ball well. The final results are above.
The pupils met early at Eikestad School in Stellenbosch before travelling around the local region enjoying the fine scenery. The area we visited was the centre of the South African wine industry. We passed mile upon mile of vineyards.
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