Thursday 6 December 2007

Captain Andy's postcard from South Africa

This morning we had a bit of a lie in, after lunch we went to train with around 100 to 200, nine to fifteen year old children from local schools around South Africa, it was quite a diverse group. All of the children were really keen and wanted to get involved, they all had great handling and footwork skills and they were so appreciative of the time we spent with them. It was great to see these children getting so into their rugby, running around and tackling each other. The boys really enjoyed the experience, it was uplifting for all of us to see local people and children enjoying the sport.

After that, we went to train and we had a captain's run which didn't take very long, we are all resting ahead of the big day tomorrow. The weather has been very unsettled, when we first arrived it was raining, the last couple of days it has been hot with not a cloud in the sky, then today it has been cloudy and windy, we have trained with this in mind and are now prepared for anything. In Dubai it was so hot and humid it was very difficult to play, here it is much more bearable and the ground is softer because of the rain. Tomorrow I'm hoping for sun though because it puts your spirits up!

The boys have bonded very well over the past two weeks, this is one of the tightest groups I've been involved with which is a great sign because that's what sevens is all about, working together as a team. Tomorrow we face a tough pool Zimbabwe, Kenya and New Zealand so we will need a team effort.

So far it has been a huge honour to be captain. Last week in Dubai I was very proud of the guys especially the second day, we're still disappointed to have lost to Fiji but the great thing about sevens is, we get to right the wrongs this week.

See you soon

Andy Vilk
England Sevens Captain

England's pool fixtures, Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens, Friday 7 December 2007 (all local times GMT + 2)

12.24 England v Zimbabwe
15.30 England v Kenya
19.46 New Zealand v England

For further information on England Sevens log onto www.rfu.com/sevens

Ends