Alumni News

The year is 1996, and an excitable First XV Rugby Squad are setting off for a Zimbabwean tour, which is the culmination of 18 months of fundraising and preparation. Our destination was the Saint George’s College Centenary Rugby Festival in Harare. Our tour began with 2 days of training – which were about climatizing to the stifling heat (and later, extreme cold!) as much as refining our skills on the pitch.

Our first match-up against Prince Edward School was a close contest. We managed to keep the lead for the majority of the game – but were narrowed out in the final minutes. With the defeat behind us, the next morning we made for Peterhouse, a boarding school near Marondera – where we would spend the next two days.

It wasn’t all work on the tour – as we had time for exploring and sightseeing in between games. A particular highlight was visiting the Tsindi ruins, an ancient African civilisation that afforded stunning panoramic views as far as Mutare and the Eastern Highlands.

The time had come for our match-up with hosts Peterhouse, but a 37-15 defeat left the Aloysian side feeling deflated. All was well afterward, when both teams shared a meal in the school hall. We then travelled back to Saint George’s – where we were treated to some rugby we could enjoy as spectators, being guests at an exciting local derby match between Prince Edward and Saint George’s.

The tour continued in full swing, with three matches each day taking place on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Along with ourselves, Saint George’s and Prince Edwards - Michaelhouse, Bryanston and Saint Henry’s Marist College (all from South Africa) completed the festival roster.

Our first win came on the Tuesday, with a 25 – 14 win over Saint Henry’s. The excitement however was focused on our next game – which we had identified as our “Test Match”. Tensions were high when we were walking out onto the pitch to face Saint George’s, but they were quickly soothed by a piper from the local Caledonian Society – whose rendition of Flower of Scotland accompanied our team.

The team walk out for their first match at Saint George's.

Our College Magazine from November 1996 dubbed what followed in the match “one of the finest displays ever by a College team” – with the final score coming to 40 points to 23. We kept a wide gap of 29 -0 for the first half. The Saint George’s side proved they were not going down without a fight, but we put enough points on the board by the end of the second half to secure a victory.

The celebration was not to last, however, as the third match of the festival against Price Edward saw us face a 36 -7 defeat. Despite this, the festival ended on a high with a dinner at the Harare Sheraton Hotel that included 450 guests. Following this and the hard work of the team, we were treated to some well-deserved R&R for the rest of the trip. Memorable recreational exploits included white-water rafting, taking part in the famous Flight of the Angels helicopter ride over Victoria Falls, and bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge (although this was not something our entire party participated in!)

All in all, our Zimbabwean Tour of 1996 proved to be a great experience for our First XV and brought a fitting end to the season.

A piper pipes the squad onto the field for the first match of the tournament.