Rugby Union

Breakfast was at 08:00 with check out at 10:00 leaving time for one more tour meeting to discuss the day ahead. Monday in winter proved a difficult challenge to find some way of entertaining the boys in a manner fit to end a fantastic tour. Once again Norwich’s local man on the ground came up tromps and after a leisurely wander down Long Street we headed off to Tokai Forest for a highly charged afternoon paintballing. Forwards against backs teacher against teacher was the order of the day. Once the Marshals had given everybody a team talk and laid out the rules the games began.

The backs game plan of speed over brawn wasn’t going to plan with first games ending up 2-1 and it didn’t get any better from there. As each game passed the wiry warriers came back to the safe zone ever more battered with bullet marks in the most uncomfortable of places. As the games drew to a close it was obvious that the backs just didn’t have the might of the forwards and the day ended 3-2, forwards win.

After the games had finished the group transferred to the world’s largest shopping centre giving everybody the chance to buy gifts for loved ones back home. Later in the evening saw our legend of a driver, Deon, fulfil his final duty of the tour, getting us to the airport on time. On arrival Sam Hopper presented Deon with a tour brochure and a tour shirt by way of thanking him for all his efforts over the last couple of weeks. It’s true to say that a coach driver can make or break a tour and Deon certainly contributed to Norwich’s tour of South Africa. Once into the airport everybody settled down and relaxed in readiness for their long flight to Amsterdam. It was evident by the fact that everybody was soon sleeping that it had been a very exhausting couple of weeks.