The week in Kitwe seems to have flown by.  The group have got into their daily routine of breakfast followed by travelling to schools, 2 hours of coaching before lunch, 2 hours after and in the evening, a traditional Zambian feed before either sitting around the camp fire for a while or heading for a tent for some well deserved rest.

On Wednesday night, we were invited down to the local Rugby Club (Diggers RFC) where we played a game of touch against a selection of Diggers “Old Boys”.  The game was naturally very competitive … with the TRDT Tigers running out winners, which meant we were first in the queue for the BBQ !

Tournament Day is always a frenzy of activity with 1001 jobs to be done in order to turn a school yard into a rugby venue and the kids not in class all want to follow the volunteers around … especially if they are carrying a camera.

The day had started with a few challenges … the porridge crew went into the kitchen store to find it ankle deep in water, so before we could even start thinking about tournament preparation we had a mopping up task on our hands.

The Tournament itself was fantastic.  120 children in brightly coloured T-shirts all running their hearts out in front of their supporters.  This being Africa, we were never short of groups breaking out into a song & dance and old water containers doubling up as drums !  As the tournament progressed to the knock-out stages, every try was rewarded with a mini pitch invasion.

To give the finalists a breather we had the traditional British vs African coaches match … old and young straining every sinew for bragging rights at the end of phase celebration.

The results were

Cup – Justin Kabwe bt Kampemba

Plate – Misheshi bt Romilys (the new Chibusa House)

Bowl – SOS Childrens Village bt Wesley Niryenda

After all the activity of the day, the group packed up & headed for Armstrongs Pub for a Braai & celebration.  Tony Thompson presented the group with a ball signed by the South African Rugby Legends … but don’t worry, we know a good charity shop where we can get rid of it!

This weekend is all about resting, washing & generally getting ready for another week of coaching in Lusaka … we’ll let you know how we get on.

From

Dylan, Trevor & Chris