Day 6

Game Day

For the boys, today was like any other day when preparing for a rugby match. Big breakfast to get the necessary fuel on board. Prepare kit bag; get numbers ones ready, relax and stay focused.

Not for Mr Joseph and Karien our tour guide though. Bolton School, Silk Group and Medicina have been collecting various charitable donations from local businesses for over twelve months which, despite all the planning, still hadn’t arrived. The very large consignment had been dock - side for nearly a months but the final thread to finish the weave had yet to be spun. Earlier in the week David Newton who is out here watching his two sons play rugby had stepped up to the mark and been down to the office of the shipping agent and paid the duty so everything could be released. This morning at 08.00 Mr Joseph and Karien were in a cab heading down to the warehouse to pay the storage charges. 12.00 noon and still no delivery. One coach headed off to the V&A Waterfront to buy food for lunch whilst the rest of us waited anxiously at the hotel. Everything arrived just in the nick of time and we were off and running.

We arrived at Kasselsvlei Comprehensive High School in torrential rain that just didn’t look like stopping and didn’t for the rest of the day. This suited the Bolton coaches as they were will aware of this teams pace and ability to move the ball around.

On arrival the boys were ushered out of the rain and into the assembly hall. Initially the boys felt a little out of place which is normal the first time you experience a truly black community and being in a minority. However, no sooner had everybody skulked off to one side and dropped their bags the local boys were introducing themselves with huge smiles and warm hand shakes. This changed the mood immediately and set the tone for the rest of the day. All the boys mixed easily with each other and there was much laughter enjoyed by all.

Both games were played in torrential rain but very good spirits as it was clear to everyone watching that all the boys were enjoying themselves. After the match the hospitality shown to both teachers and boys alike was fantastic. The charitable items that Bolton had collected and worked so hard to get to South Africa were truly well received. The medical equipment donated by Medicina had an amazing impact . One of the day’s helpers worked at the local hospital and couldn’t believe her eyes as she opened each box with child like excitement exclaiming over and over again how 'they just didn’t have these supplies at their hospital' and that they 'would truly save lives!' This struck a chord with all the teachers and made the day all the more special. Leaving any club or school after a great day is always hard but leaving Kasselsvlei had an extra pang of sadness as it was probable that the boys would never see each other again and they had become friends. The rest of the day was spent preparing for tomorrow's journey to Durban and on to new sights and sounds out in the Hluhluwe Bush.


2nd Team Report by Mr Jackson

Kasselsvlei 10 Bolton 10.

The second game of the tour took Bolton School to Kasselsvlei Comprehensive School in a township of Cape Town. Conditions favoured the touring team with a severe downpour before and during the match. Bolton started brightly with forwards dominating the first 15 minutes. Alex Zolghadria, Andrew Freer and Johnny Elliot worked very hard to break the home teams defence. However spilled ball allowed the opposition to break from their own 22 and into the Bolton School half. It was now their business to defend with Thomas Ince and James Kuligowski putting in big hits. Kasselsvlei fast backs and good ball handling skills a way through midway through the half and a further try was added five minutes later leaving Bolton 10 – 0 down at half time.

The second half saw Bolton make excellent in roads into the home defence. Edward Grundy, Allistair Harrison and Josh Hughes increased the intensity, picking and driving down the right side of the pitch. This created an overlap and the backs moved the ball well for Nick Belshaw to crash over in the corner. Bolton was back in the game. The pressure continued and it was only some excellent tackling by the home defence that kept Bolton at bay.

David Cryer, Bolton’s scrum half rallied his forwards for a big scrummage on the Kasselsvlei line. A tremendous push saw the ball pop out Dave Cryer was first to react leaping like a Lynx to score. The wet conditions and uneven ground meant that Nick Belshaw narrowly missed the conversion so the game remained at 10 – 10. An excellent game played in difficult conditions and a result to keep everybody happy.

The tour now moves to Durban where there is a short break from the rugby at the tourists take in a safari and game drive.

Captains Report by Thomas Ince

In weather that was more reminiscent of Bolton in December the 2nd XV kicked off against Kasselsvlei. In a close first 15 minutes there was little to choose between the two sides, with the forwards dominated game of Bolton clashing with the free flowing rugby exhibited by the opposition.

However over the next 10 minutes the home team began to exert more pressure on the Bolton defence, as the conditions began to make handling more difficult and the opposition kick and chase game exhibited began to make greater inroads behind Bolton’s defensive line. This eventually resulted in two tries which both went unconverted. As the half began to close Bolton began to find more territory and began to put a few more phases together, which was a sign of things to come.

During half time Mr Jackson rang the changes with Alex McDermott, David Cryer, Nick Belshaw and Hector Smethurst replacing Peter Eckersley, David Devine, Thomas Rimmer and Michael Clegg in the backs whilst in the forwards Sam Hardy and Ed Grundy came on for Alex Zolghadria and Andrew Freer respectively.

After the half time interval Bolton began to dominate the second half with some precise set pieces to gain a foothold in the home teams half. This was supported by the excellent ground that was being made by the Grundy and Harrison combination in the back row. Whilst the rest of the pack and importantly my Man of The Match Chris Gregory hit every ruck and every tackle with increasing ferocity until the breakthrough came via Nick Belsham diving try in the corner. Unfortunately the conversion attempt failed. At 10 – 5 down the team started to build momentum and again the pressure began to tell with an excellent push at a scrum jus short of the line and when the ball came out of the scrum David Cryer was there to score the try. The try converted would have won the game for us but again the wind and uneven ground intervened and the game was all square at 10 – 10. The match then descended into a struggle to break this new deadlock. This resulted in both teams throwing everything at each other as Kasselsvlei attacked through their snipping runners whilst Dave Cryer attempted a long range drop goal and McDermott set up a driving maul that was well held. As the ref drew the game to a close both teams were happy with the result.
1st Team Report by Mr Joseph

Kasselsvlei 0 Bolton 17

On a wet and windy day Bolton took on the toughest team so far on tour and had a wonderful day and evening at the school and with local community all standing in the rain to watch the boys play rugby.

It was a fiercely contested game played in a splendid spirit throughout and excellently reflected by Jerome who summed up that even in the rainiest conditions a fluent and competitive game was possible. The larger Bolton pack played to their strength with driving mauls and vigorous rucking leading to the opening try by Nick Holt, converted by Matt Strang who also bagged a first half penalty. The home team tackled superbly and showed a refreshing willingness and ability to throw the ball around, but Bolton’s defence stood firm with Chris Newman at the fore. The second half matched the first in terms of intense tackling and the vocal crowd appreciated both sides efforts and appreciated Bolton’s forward play which resulted in Will Bates diving over for a well deserved try, converted by Jack Roberts.

In many respects the game and result was incidental to our real mission, to create a bond with the school, pupils, staff and community and to leave behind a lasting legacy of friendship and memories to last a life time. Due to the generosity of the sponsors and the extraordinary fund raising of too many people to mention we was able to donate to the school and community many gifts ranging from rugby kit, sports equipment, educational aids, stationary and clothing. This was facilitated by Silk Group and by the staff of Sports & Corporate Group Travel. What was particularly moving was the donation of a massive and invaluable amount of medical equipment for the local hospital. I will be eternally grateful to Ken Harrison from Medicina for his generous support and the parents, staff and local community expressed their own gratitude with an emotional and eloquent speech from their first team coach Graham and their school principal Ronald Bantom. So the Bolton School 1st XV leave Cape Town unbeaten as they fly to Durban. Behind they leave new friends and a determination to return soon to a city and people who have left an indelible mark on a very happy group of rugby players and staff from Bolton.

Captains Report by Chris Newman

The weather could not have been more different that our first game at Plumstead. It would seem that we had brought some truly Brits weather with us which fortunate for us as we came up against a side with a highly talented and very fast set of backs.

We spoke before the match about how the game would be won or lost upfront and the lads duly took this to heart with a commanding performance from the start. Good ruck ball a strong catch and drive from the lineout and a dynamic back row ensured that during the first 15 minutes Bolton had the majority of the possession. After a good series of pick and goes by the forwards Bolton were able to open up the scoring through Nick Holt after a penalty was kicked to tough and the resulting line out and maul was driven over the line. The rain slackened a bit allowing the home team more scope for attack. The Bolton backs must be congratulated for great defence, both centres Bates and Bolton in particular with players happy to offload after contact and trying never to die with the ball. As the first half came to a close Bolton were able to extend their lead through a converted penalty by Stang after great Bolton pressure.

The second half started at a faster pace with more possession from Kasselsvlei resulting in Bolton needed to defend at their best. With the wine in their favour they also started to send barrage after barrage of high ball down our back three throats. Relph, Roberts and Sanders all did an excellent job under severe pressure. With our backs against the wall Bolton resorted to setting a slow tempo, building numerous phases with the forwards, Hough, Smith and the substitute Whelan all added the hard yards for the cause.

A rare break against a committed defence by Radcliff a scoring opportunity was presented to Jack Roberts after a series of offloads by the Bolton backs. Unfortunately Taffy’s eye sight failed him, mistaking the 5 metre line for the try line, and blowing an easily finished chance. A mistake sure to highlighted at the court at the end of the trip.

Breathing space was made but a score from Bate’s, who playing at scrumhalf picked up from the base of the ruck and scored from 3 meters out. The conversion put the score at 17 – 0 for Bolton. The final minutes were spent desperate defending from Bolton as the home team tried their best to put a score on the board.

At the final whistle each player gave his 07 Bolton shirt to their counterpart. This was really rewarding for me not by the score or the win but by the massively warm welcome given to us by the hosts and the friendly atmosphere on the pitch enjoyed by all the players.

After the match we were treated to hospitality. A good chicken curry and fruit juice was received with gratitude from all the Bolton players. However the best part of the day came with socialising with my players afterwards and the swapping of songs in the main hall.

Paul Fernside

Friday – Flight to Durban.

With a hint of sadness we left our hotel Cape Suites in Cape Town. The rugby had gone well possibly much better than anyone could have imagined. Our hotel and its facilities were first class, but the people with the hotel were superb. At every occasion we received quality service, always supplied with a genuine smile.

Our local tour guide Karien had done a first class job, going way beyond her expected duties as she kept us on time for our very busy schedule, Karien many thanks. The tour party would also like to say a big thanks to everyone at the Cape Suites and our two coach drivers Roy and Hanslo.

On to Durban