In July, a 30 strong squad departed for a two week tour of South Africa to play in the Annual Cape Town U18 International Hockey Festival.
As in previous tours, the standard of hockey did not disappoint. The South African teams were physical, skilful and fit, and it was a very good exercise and experience for Sevenoaks to pit themselves against them.
A gruelling schedule of two matches a day meant that they had to remain mentally and physically fit and tough. Both teams were young and lacked a certain amount of experience, but were quick to adapt and learn and they responded well to a new style of play and formation which enabled them to make excellent progress throughout the tournament. As a result the Bs highlights were 3 narrow defeats to Milnbrook HCXI, Fairmont HS 1st XI and Bellville 1st XI, and the As ended their tour with a draw against Framesby and consecutive wins over La Rochelle and Fairmont.
Please click here to see photos from the tour
Beyond the hockey the girls experienced Monkeyland, Birds of Eden and walked with elephants, trunk in hand (an acquired sensation!). A fantastic stay in the luxurious Gondwana Game Reserve was out of this world, the highlight being the evening game drive; a fantastic sunset and coming within 10m of a majestic lion, roaring for its mate. Penguins at Betty’s Bay and sunset on Table Mountain, followed by a traditional African Malay Dinner and drumming experience rounded off a fantastic two weeks.
