Saturday the 17th of May was no ordinary day for 22 of our kids in the Helderberg Academy as we took a trip to Newlands Stadium, Cape Town, to watch Stormers vs Western Force in an epic game of Rugby!
We arrived at the Stadium with plenty of time to spare and once our boys got through the security gates it was onto their first surprise. We were taken into a back room in the stadium where our boys were given Stormers gift bags full of amazing gifts such a rugby ball, scarf, banners and other cool Stormers merchandise! The boys absolutely loved the bags and were buzzing about their news gifts! Already the boys were buzzing!
Next the boys were given fresh hot dogs from the stands and a cool drink to wash it down. Again this just added to the boys smiles and their excitement!
Now for the game. We quickly found our seats in the not so full stadium. The stadium may have not been full but our boys made up the volume and enthusiasm with their chanting and cheering. Also, lots of banging with their newly gifted inflatable bangers!
The game was a great battle and it pleased the stadium to see the home side win! From the first whistle it was all Stormers and our boys were loving the home team piling the pressure on the Australian visitors. They couldn’t get enough of cheering for ‘our’ Nic Groom! He played a great 80 minutes and was the absolute favorite of all of the boys!
After the match we got the amazing opportunity to take our boys onto the field were they had the chance to get their new Stormers gifts signed by some of the players. Now their smiles had gone from pretty big already to enormous grins stretching from cheek to cheek!
So after Stormers goody bags, food, drink, a great game of rugby and signatures from the players we headed out the stadium and back home.
What a day! It was truly breathtaking just to sit back as leaders and watch our boys having the day of their lives! Coach Mike had a particular moment as he saw just the enormous improvement in the boy’s attitude, respect and behaviour since he started working with the Academy! It was a pleasure and a privilege to take our boys to Newlands!
From the Helderberg Academy we would just like to send a huge thank you to Stormers Rugby Club who made this dream day happen!