Rugby and Cricket News
Living With The Lions Sports Travel

The Perse School Cambridge has just returned from a very successful tour to South Africa.

They chose to follow an original itinerary by avoiding Cape Town and the Garden Route and it certainly paid off as their overland trips showed them the country and gave them a valuable insight into the country and people of South Africa.

With the country still recovering from Football World Cup fever the Perse began their tour in Pretoria enjoying the excellent sports facilities at the High Performance Centre, which had been the base for the Argentinean Football team a few weeks earlier.

After impressive displays on the pitch in Pretoria & Nelspruit the boys then enjoyed some R&R in the Kruger before heading south through Battlefield country to the Drakensberg Mountains.

More rugby followed with some great results for the Perse before the tour ended in the Durban area and included a fixture against the impressive Glenwood School. One highlight was the day spent at Gods Golden Acre, a centre that provides support, education and guidance to vulnerable & abandoned children. The day was a mix of rugby, entertainment and hard work with the boys lending a hand to help out with some of the maintenance jobs at the centre.

We were delighted to be involved in organising the tour for the Perse and well done on ending the tour having won 10 of the 16 games played. No mean feat in South Africa.

Rachel Barber

The Perse School from Cambridge have been enjoying a fantastic tour of South Africa as can be seen from the blog we created for them - https://lwtlperse2010.wordpress.com/

I have been fortunate enough to see the boys in action and meet the parents who too are really having a superb time so far.

I caught up wih the Perse in Mooi River where they played Weston Agricultural. 3 hard fought matches saw the Perse victorious in two with the 1st XV narrowly losing 11-15 in a very physical yet clean encounter. What a great touch it was when the Weston supporters sang God Save The Queen and the South African National Anthem prior to kick-off. It really set the scene.

Next on the fixture list was one of South Africa’s top rugby schools, Glenwood. This was the the one the Perse boys were waiting for and although they came full of spirit and determination they were out muscled and outclassed in all three games. Nevertheless the boys thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and I am sure they learned alot from the experience. I am not sure what these Glenwood boys eat but they were BIG!!

Next we head to Kloof High School and the boys will be looking forward to hopefully finishing the tour on a high.

More to follow.

Mr Gostling, the super-fit coach of rugby at the Perse School in Cambridge, will be modelling the new 1st XV kit while playing for the Perse staff on Sunday 7th March and at the same time raising money for the school tour to South Africa in July later this year. Mr Gostling commented when he saw the tight new shirts, which Living With The Lions are providing for the  tour, ‘I think that they look fantastic, just the job, but I am not sure these big new muscles of mine are going to fit in there…’. Mr Ball, Head of Sport at the same school was a little realistic. ‘We think the arms should fit ok but if it gets tight around the tummy we will all be there to help him out.’ Contact the school for more information on this fun match.

Rachel Barber has just got back from a trip to France to look at prospective Training Camps for our Clubs & School groups. She visited three in total - the first at Le Temple Sur Lot is set in a stunning location nestled amongst the fruit orchards on the banks of the River Lot and the facilities are superb particularly for rowing clubs or sports teams wanting to tie in some pre-season training with friendly fixtures and other interesting activities such as kayaking, beach volleyball or dragon boat racing! For something really special guests can stay in a chateau dating back to the Crusades, and experience a real French experience.

After le Temple, Rachel continued on to Vichy and visited the sports facilities there. Home to the local basketball team, with 10 football/rugby pitches on site as well as gyms, sports halls, indoor bowls, tennis and an athletics track there is something literally for all sporting disciplines. Located over the river from the city centre (and 20/30 mins walk from the town’s chic bars and restaurants) Vichy is a great location for a club side or pre-season tour.

Finally the inspection trip ended in the pretty little village of Meymac, deep in the Limousin countryside. This typically French location is home to Club Correze, a rugby & activity sports centre run by the Spanish national rugby coach, Ged Glynn and his wife Clare.

A mix of a PGL adventure holiday and rugby traning camp - Club Correze draws on the magnificent scenery and Ged’s rugby expertise to produce a truly unique product. Local fixtures, training sessions, mountain biking, sailing, archery, abseiling and high ropes courses are all available as well as team building activities and a programme of things to do in the evenings.

The trip was worthwhile and offers our clubs and schools something a little bit different as an alternative to a long-haul tour.

 View of the Temple Sur Lot training centre

Le Temple Sur Lot - stay in a chateau

Club Correze

High Ropes course - Club Correze

Living With The Lions are very excited to be working closely with The Perse School in Cambridge. We are currently working on two tours for them, the first being a girls hockey/netball tour to Scotland and the second a tour to South Africa in July 2010.