2nd match versus Hopefield

The boys all made it in for assembly at 0730. Some of them had indeed had to wake up at 5am. Some had to wait at school-bus stops for 20 minutes in, what seemed like sub-zero temperatures. On balance they thought the Shiplake assembly time of 0820 was much better! There are about 600 pupils at the school which is co-ed. We listened to the Principal tell us a story about a competition between the wind and the sun to see which one could control man. The wind blew as hard as he could but the man just turned up his collar and went about his normal business. The sun beamed warm gentle rays on to the man and the man took of his coat and had to rest. The moral was that if we are gentle with one another we will all be more compliant. Getting nasty with each other will make us more determined to stick to our guns.

The school is bilingual, but the Principal spoke in English, not Afrikaans, for our benefit. They sang their school song for us and I was invited to address the school. After assembly the boys went to the first lesson of the day with their hosts, sometimes in classes of 40. The Principal has a closed-circuit TV in his office with cameras in every classroom. I thought this was a fabulous idea, but I can’t see it being allowed in the UK!

We left to train at Langebaan beach at 9am when the sun was beginning to make a difference. By the time we reached the beach it was like a good summer’s day in the UK. We did some light training focussing on improving some of the weak areas from the first game and then the boys went off to find lunch and to have a paddle. Photos here http://picasaweb.google.com/anna7davies/TrainingAtLangebaanBeach#

At 1.30pm we boarded the bus to get back to Hopefield High School to prepare for the sevens match at 3.30pm and the 15-a-side game at 4.00pm.

I refereed the 7s game which was the least like 7s that you can imagine. Both teams played 15-a-side tactics but with only seven players. However, our willpower won through and we finished the three 7 minute sessions victorious. Photos are here http://picasaweb.google.com/anna7davies/7sMatchAgainstHopefield#

The main game started ferociously but I was proud that our boys did not take a step back. Our defensive organisation was much better, as was our talking. Unfortunately, after twenty minutes James W took a frontal blow to his lower jaw and his bottom incisors were pushed back. Alison and I have driven him to the local hospital (27 miles away!) and I am now writing this blog from the dentist’s waiting room.



We got back, with James having been really brave. His teeth are now looking like they did this morning. We found out that e had lost 12 - 7, but had played fantastically well and had earnt the respect of the opposition who had thought we would be a pushover. Actually the coach was good enought to say that their converted try had come from a definite offside, so technically we had won 7 - 5! We were treated to a great after-match dinner and then the boys went out for a quiet evening with their hosts. Photos are http://picasaweb.google.com/anna7davies/15ASideVersusHopefield#



So 3 matches played and 2 lost, but our performance today gave great hope for the domestic season.