Tag: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Kings v Stormers

My programme

Ja well, that’s our last home game done and dusted 😦

Our visitors The Stormers, that’s the classy Springbok filled outfit from Cape Town, hugely experienced and although perhaps playing slightly under par this season still tough opposition. The Stormers finished top of last years Super rugby log!

We were offered tickets for the Royalty Lounge at R150.00 each, (£10.00) that’s the most I’ve ever spent on a ticket to watch local rugby but, hey, it’s great there, right on the half way line, I like it and it was the final home game of our Super rugby season, so we splashed out!

We met at a local coffee shop at 11.30 for brunch and the Lions / Aussie match, what an entertaining couple of hours that turned out to be, then off to the stadium for our game (kick off 5pm)

We had high hopes of a result today, none of our 3 wins this season have been against an S.A. franchise and having only lost to the Stormers down in Cape town by 8 points our hopes were high.

We started well, 6 – 0 up after 15 minutes or so which quickly due to (more) ill discipline by my Kings quickly became 6- 6 all, we had a player sin-binned but were holding on. And then the dreaded score 2 minutes before half time, not for us, for them. The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, we got a couple of penalties, so did they and then a late try.

Our hopes were dashed, we lost (again) 12 – 24 Continue reading “Kings v Stormers”

Kings v Cheetahs

My programme

After a much needed weekend off last week we were back at the stadium supporting our mighty Kings.

This weekend it was the turn off the Bloemfontein based Cheetahs to visit the shores of our bay. The Cheetahs are a strong outfit, with four or five Springboks on the team but their real strength lies in their squad.

They assembled a team of young players perhaps five years ago, these guys have played together, toured together, know each other well with the result that they are a really good team, no superstars but a good team.

They’re also presently fourth on the super rugby log, no mean feat that, there’s some tough opposition out there but after a stunning tour of Australia and New Zealand (3 wins in 4 matches) they’ve maintained the momentum and are having a good, no a great season.

I also think that our South African coaches study the opposition a lot more closely, the Cheetahs were able to nullify a lot of the tactics that I’ve been watching from my Kings this season (line out drives, rolling mauls, our tearaway loose trio, etc.)

So, how’d we do?

Continue reading “Kings v Cheetahs”

Kings v Highlanders

My programme

What a difference a week makes!

After last week’s humiliation at the hands of those Aussie Warratahs my Kings hosted the Highlanders this weekend, a team packed with All Blacks and boosted with the confidence of a victory just last week against the Sharks,  but more about that later.

Remember my “Super season tickets” post back in February? The one where I explained that a local bar had 2 ‘royalty package’ season tickets to hand out as prizes for all home game? Guess who won them this week? Ha ha I can hear you all laughing, of course it was me!

Now as you know,  I go to the games anyway, we always have great seats but these? These are special, plus the facilities which were still being constructed during my first visit (bar, restaurant, lounge, flat screen tv’s, big screen etc.) are now all in place. It really is a magnificent (royal (?)) way to watch rugby, or any sport for that matter.

So how did my Kings do this week?

Most here aren’t going to believe me but I assure you that I’m telling the truth we WON!

Not just any old win but a win with a bonus point for four tries. Continue reading “Kings v Highlanders”

Kings v Waratahs

My programme

Have I mentioned how much I’m enjoying this year’s Super Rugby season?

As mentioned elsewhere, it was the turn of the New South Wales Waratahs to visit our shores. Our Kings have had a good record against Australian teams this year, in fact all 15 of our log points have come against Aussie opposition. (Wins against the Perth based Western Force and Melbourne Rebels and of course that last gasp draw against The ACT Brumbies)

Hopes were high, well mine were, for all of 30 seconds that is, for that is just how long it took for this Aussie outfit to score their first try!

After that? Believe it or not it got worse, they ran in try after try and for all of the first half consistently had more points on the board than minutes passed! Men against boys I kept thinking, it was really really difficult to watch. As a life long Eastern Province supporter (a team who’ve never won any top flight competition) I’m sort of used to losing, this wasn’t just ‘losing’ this was ‘annihilation!’

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, our new darling of E.P.rugby Sergeal Petersen got us out of our seats with a brilliant try just before half time, but I’m afraid that was all my Kings had to offer.

Continue reading “Kings v Waratahs”

Kings v Sharks

My programmeWho would have thought it?

After a glorious victory against the Aussie Force two weeks ago (and a bye last week) our Super Kings hosted the first of the heavyweights last night. The Sharks were last year’s losing finalists, they are a side packed with current Springboks (we have not one) and we kept them tryless!

Our magnificent Nelson Mandela Bay stadium was a sell out, that’s 42,000 people packed in to savour a super rugby derby. Sure it’s been full once or twice before but that was during the FIFA world cup, no passion, no partisanship just an extravaganza (albeit a jolly good one) and of course our two rugby tests against England and the All Blacks, this was different, completely different!

If our first victory in the competition hasn’t made the opposition sit up and reconsider our ‘whipping boy’ tag then last night must have, our Kings were simply magnificent.

One report tells us “only 1 tackle missed out of 107” They defended like lions (not the Transvaal kind but the four legged ones with manes!) and on attack? Opportunities though few and far between were taken, so much so that with only 2 minutes to go we were in a bonus point winning position but fate dealt a cruel blow, we were robbed of that bonus point in the last minute of the game.

Continue reading “Kings v Sharks”

Niger v Ghana – Afcon 2013

We met at 6pm.

I was the last to arrive, a beer was poured and waiting for me. A quick chat, distribute the tickets and off to the van,

We arrived at the Fettes road gate within 10 minutes, our lift dropped us off within 10 meters of the entrance unlike large well attended rugby tests there was no queue! A quick stroll through the electronic turnstile, a cursory body pat down and off to find our seats. Continue reading “Niger v Ghana – Afcon 2013”

Afcon ticket office

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that on Monday 28 January we are going to watch the mighty Niger against the Black Stars in the Orange Afcon 2013.

We’re avid sports fans, I’m one of the few people who can attest to watching World Cup Rugby, World Cup Cricket and World Cup Football all right here in my home city and now we’re privileged to host the Africa Cup of Nations, we just had to go.

I was tasked with buying the tickets, 8 of them!

I consider myself an experienced ticket buyer, in the last year I’ve arranged tickets for numerous E.P.Kings rugby matches, the Springboks / England test match, HSBC sevens, the Proteas v Black Caps T20 on Boxing day and of course more recently the Proteas v New Zealand 5 day test held right here at St. Georges Park.

Where to buy Afcon tickets? It was not as simple as you might think.

None of the usual suspects were selling tickets for the Afcon games!

A phone call to the offices of E.P rugby quickly solved my problem, “there’s a kiosk at the Prince Alfred Road gate” she said, no problem and off I headed.

I got to the aforementioned gate at The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (the home of the mighty Southern Kings and graveyard of bulls and sharks) and nothing! Locked. I saw a security guard in the distance and beckoned her over, she directed me down the road to the ‘kiosk’

You’re not going to believe this….

Continue reading “Afcon ticket office”

Afcon 2013

As I passed by our stadium yesterday I chuckled at who the title sponsors are, it’s a crowd called Orange, to the best of my knowledge they don’t operate in South Africa, must be big up north then.

We’ve been allocated 8 matches down here (6 group games, a ¼ final and the 3rd / 4th place play off) We want to go and support the event but we’ve no idea who is worth watching and who isn’t.

We settled on Ghana vs Niger, it’s a final group game (kick off 7 O’clock, Monday 28th) hopefully important log positions will be at stake and we’ll be treated to some attacking football and goals.

Ticket prices are a very reasonable R70 (£5) R60 (£4.20) and R50 (£3.50) we’ll probably break the bank and buy the most expensive!

The tournament kicked off last night with a double header up in Jhb, (S.A. v Cape Verde and Angola v Morocco)  both games ended nil – nil.

Update 23 Jan

This Wiki page has all the logs, fixtures and results on one easy to read page, it’s great for up to date and easy to read information.