Page 32 - The Malvernian - December 2023

THE MALVERNIAN
Rugby Tour to South Africa
On Saturday 15 July 40 boys arrived back at Malvern for two intense days of training prior to departure from Heathrow to Johannesburg. After landing on the rainbow nation shores, we boarded our bus for a two-night stay at Camp Konka near Rustenburg for training and team building. The staff and hospitality at Konka were second to none.
Prior to our first set of fixtures vs Parktown Boys in Johannesburg we had a guided tour of the Iconic Ellis Park. On arrival at Parktown we greeted by our fantastic hosts. Our matches at Parktown were very physical on a rock-hard pitch in front of the very noisy SA Parktown band. Malvern came away with 2 good wins to get the tour firmly on track. The after-match hospitality was excellent making lots of new friends and swapping kit; it was wonderful to observe the boys interacting, that’s what touring is all about.
Onwards to the Eastern Cape, stopping at the outstanding Keriega Game Reserve for two exhilarating game drives and being treated to some wonderful African cooking and dancing. The next day we make our way to the Mpekweni beach resort on the sunshine coast between East London and Port Elizabeth. At Mpekweni we were able to reset our goals, train on the beach prior to our live training session with Graeme College and our second set of matches vs Kingswood College In Grahamstown. After our training sessions with Graeme, the boys cooked on the Braai, interacted with the Graeme boys, sang, eat and made new friends. Our games against two very good Kingswood sides were very competitive. We lost both games; however, we were able to hold our heads high with the way we played and the Graeme College boys came to support us and make some noise which was outstanding. After the matches we were treated to a formal dinner with both Malvern, Kingswood staff and parents sat together. This was such a great experience for all involved.
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THE MALVERNIAN