4 June 2024
The Wildeklawer Sports Festival takes place at Diamantveld High School, Kimberley, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. It is the biggest festival of its kind in South Africa, where each year, the top ranked rugby schools are invited to play two fixtures against carefully selected opposition. This provides a showcase of the cream of South African Schools rugby, with famous schools such as Grey College, Paarl Boys High and Paul Roos Gimnasium coming together for five days. All games are live streamed on South African television and the event attracts thousands of spectators. This year, the festival organisers decided to invite two international sides for the first time in its history, one from each hemisphere.
On the back of winning the National St Joseph's Festival, Kirkham 1st XV Rugby team were invited. This came about through a long standing connection with Mr Pierre Jacobs, who set up an exchange with Kirkham following a tour lead by former Head of Rugby Aled Trenhaile in 2007. Mr Jacobs, now headmaster at Glenwood High School in Durban, suggested that Kirkham would relish the opportunity and add something different. We are truly grateful for the support of Mr Jacobs and the hard work of festival manager Cassie Carstens and his team.
Monday 29th April - The team flew to Johanesburg from Machester, via Heathrow overnight and then had a seven hour transfer down to Kimberly on an executive coach. Door to door the team spent twenty three hours traveling, but with an overnight flight and no jet lag, the players shaped up well for training the following day at the festival ground. The boys trained really well and it was useful to get used to the high altitude and heat before the first game. In the afternoon the team enjoyed swimming and a South African Braai at a local game lodge, whilst Mr Roddam and Mr Unsworth stayed behind to register and attend the pre festival coaches meeting. In the evening, the whole group returned to Diamantveld for the opening ceremony.
Thursday 2nd May – Kick off for the first game against Nico Malan was not until 4pm, so in the morning, the team went for a stroll around a local shopping mall before going for a pre match meal. It was then back to the hotel to get ready and stay cool and relaxed. Due to the heat, the team opted for their short warm up routine. This meant only turning up at the ground one hour before KO and this proved to be a great decision. Kirkham were leading at half time 33-17 and finished the game winning 45-22 .
Friday 3rd May – This was a rest day and the morning was spent visiting the Wildeklawer farm, the main sponsors for the festival. We were invited for a tour and then treated to an amazing South African Braai at the owner's mansion with beautiful gardens and lakes. The afternoon was spent back at the game lodge with some of the traveling parents. The boys relaxed in the sun, had a swim and spent time around a camp fire and enjoyed a BBQ, whilst spotting wildlife visiting the watering hole until sundown. It was a pretty special evening for everyone.
Saturday 4th May – Game day two against the formidable Outeniqua High School. In a highly physical game, Kirkham trailed 15-7 at half time. However Kirkham found another gear in the second half and finished off a spectacular comeback to win 25-27. That evening the boys enjoyed meeting players from the other team and watching some of the other games before heading out for a well-earned meal in a local restaurant.
Sunday 5th May – Time to head home. The team arrived back in Manchester on Monday morning with a feeling of satisfaction. The theme for the group throughout the trip was to make the most of their last two games together and earn the respect of the South African's. We definitely did that and made memories that will last a lifetime. A big thank you to the staff that managed the trip, Mr Roddam, Mr Unsworth and Mr Robinson. Also to retired teacher and now volunteer Mr Browning and our chaperone for the week Gerhard Janse van Rensburg who went above and beyond to help make the trip run smoothly for us.