A presentation night at the clubrooms on Thursday 25 March officially farewelled the club's Under 20 team on a two week tour of South Africa that will include a schools tournament in Rustenburg.
President Jack Seymour wished the team well for this marvellous opportunity and urged them to wear the club colours with pride in one of the toughest rugby assignments possible for a young team on tour.
Coach Dean Carlisle, assistant coach Steve Douglas, manager Ray Rameka and tour managers Gideon van Zyl and Kevin Burley presented each player with their team kit and commemorative tour jumper before naming flanker Liam Burley as team captain and prop Samual Smith as vice-captain.
The team, management and a group of parents fly out of Perth on Tuesday 29 March. The two week program includes the tournament in Rustenburg hosted by Hoerskool Elspark, three games against South African school sides and tour highlights such as trips to Sun City Nature Reserve and the Valley of Waves.
The tour was hatched over a few beers by the coaching team in July last year, when they decided to take the group on an overseas tour. Gideon provided the contacts in his native South Africa, arranging a place in the Rustenburg tournament, one of many high school pre-season festivals that traditionally take place around Easter.
The coaches felt this would provide the best mix of quality of rugby and hospitality, and the chance to experience another level of rugby passion with the accent on learning and enjoyment rather than winning.
The boys were enthusiastic about the idea and worked hard for months to raise the funds. Most of the team have played together for some years, winning premierships as Under 16s and Under 18s.
Although this will be a tough assignment, the coaches are confident the team can hold their own and give the South Africans a run for their money. The team's game plan has been tweaked to accommodate the high altitude and tighter conditions.
The players will be billeted out with their opposite numbers in the host school for the first few days to get a taste of local culture and will then be staying together in sports centres. The trip is an ideal opportunity to build invaluable team bonding and broaden young players' views on rugby culture and passion in another country.
The club will receive regular reports on the team's progress, which will be posted on the web site as they arrive.
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