Page 33 - The Malvernian - December 2023

THE MALVERNIAN
After breakfast and saying goodbye to our excellent hosts, we boarded our coach for the long drive to the Western Cape stopping off at The Wilderness for a two-night stay where we were able to recover, do some sightseeing and of course some training too. From The Wilderness we made our way down the garden route stopping at Hermanus, where many of us saw a whale in the bay, then onto Stellenbosch for a one-night stay. From Stellenbosch we went onto play our third set of fixtures vs Dick Muir’s academy in a very wet Franschhoek. The Development team played first and came away with a gutsy win, while the 1st XV had a frustrating 3-point loss. The boys interacted with our opposition, speeches were made, awards were awarded in true rugby tradition.
Onwards to Cape Town and our four-night stay at the outstanding President hotel located at Bantry Bay. The boys experienced everything Cape Town has to offer. We also were fortunate to be able to visit Hokisa, an orphanage, which gives life changing opportunities to countless numbers of young children. The boys brought gifts of pens, pencils, books and fruit for the children and took time to play with them in their school yard - something that was a very humbling experience. The next day we played our last set of fixtures vs Bishops Diocesan College with the superb backdrop of Table Mountain. Two extremely well contested fixtures were had at Bishops; unfortunately Malvern lost them both, with the 1st XV conceding a try in the dying embers of the game. The boys were disappointed with many of them pulling the Malvern colours on for the last time, final score 17-14 to a very strong Bishop’s stayers team. Many teams have fallen at this iconic venue this season by a far greater scoreline.
Ever since Malvern College’s last tour to South Africa in 2014 it was always an intention of mine to come back one day and play the likes of Bishops and Kingswood, demonstrating how far how far rugby has grown at Malvern College. As custodian of Malvern College rugby, I am extremely proud of what’s been achieved over the years, this season and of course on this epic tour. We have all made some life lasting memories and friendships.
Thank you to all that have made this possible and to the College for allowing us to offer this type of experience which can be life changing.
Yours in Rugby,
Nick Tisdale | Master i/c of Rugby
THE MALVERNIAN
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