Unfortunately no sleeping in for us on Saturday morning as we needed to get up so that Chantelle could make breakfast for the solitary guest booked in – which was kind of a pity because she and I only got to bed eventually round 2 in the morning after everyone had left after the games night on Friday. Extra sleep would definitely have been nice :(
Unfortunately it wasnt going to be a nice and laid back Saturday in the end though news came in that one of the ladies that works at the guesthouse was mugged on Friday night (just a couple of meters from the guesthouse shockingly enough) and in the process her arm was broken. Sympathy aside, this caused a further problem for Chantelle as there was no one else available for duty leaving no choice but for her and myself to jump in and get to work on the guesthouse.
Matters were compounded by the fact that the guesthouse owners were expected later in the afternoon, so pretty much all work had to be complete and the place pretty much needed to be spick and span before they arrived. *whew* yet another reason I wont ever work in a guesthouse it is just so much work for a feather-duster-avoiding person like me!
Saturday afternoon however was a completely different ball game. I had organised for us to go watch Western Province take on the Blue Bulls at Newlands which was a pretty exciting thing for Chantelle as she hasnt been to Newlands before – except for when she was a child which doesnt count as far as I’m concerned (Shes not into sports at all, but the atmosphere of these events can always make up for that!).
We were joined at the stadium by Ryan and my mom and pops (Merkaba, Riley and Claire all wussed out on us). After being ripped off by the vendor selling chips and cooldrinks, we settled down and waited for the game to kick off.
Now Western Province has had an absolutely appalling start to the season and Saturday was the first test for the newly appointed coach of the franchise. We have a recent history of losing to the Bulls and to be honest, I don’t think many people went in under the delusion that we might win for a change. That said, the stadium was surprisingly full and there was a sea of Bulls and Province flags all around the stands.
The first half of the game was disappointing to say the least, the only positive thing being that Western Province looked the better of the two sides, being by far the more attacking side. Only problem is, they really werent breaking the Bulls lines and creating any scoring chances at all. And unfortunately ill disciplined play was giving away too many penalties, something the Bulls kick taker was eager to rub into our faces with some sublime penalty and drop goal kicks.
Second half Western Province shifted up a gear and were eventually awarded with a great try bring the game to a rather close finale. At this stage the crowd who had been quite lethargic up to this point began more and more vocal in cheering the local lads on (my voice became completely hoarse after all my cheering much to Chantelles amusement I might add).
Still, in the end an unfortunate mistake pretty much at the death of the game just pushed the game out of reach for our lads and WP ended off with yet another loss on the table. But they did put in a much better performance than the last couple of weeks and if they can just show the heart and determination that became apparent in the second half for the whole game, I’m sure next time will be a different story. (Read a full write up here)
Saturday evening was a bit of a loss as Chantelle’s friend pulled out of visiting with us and as the guesthouse owners were there for the eveing, I was forced to spend the evening at my own flat for a change. Did catch a little of Johnny Depp in Blow before leaving the guesthouse behind though rather amusing seeing him as a blonde-haired Californian drug dealer I must say :)
