Middlesex Rugby
Boks visit Mill Hill School
Mill Hill rugby stars get boost from the Boks
Hugh Godwin writes
London & South East Under-18 triallist Robbie Martey had a day to remember when the world champion Springboks turned up to train at his school.
Full-back Martey and his team-mates in Mill Hill School’s first XV even grabbed the chance of a quick game of touch with the star-studded South African squad, who spent an afternoon in north London during their preparations for the Gartmore Challenge match against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
Bryan Habana, JP Pietersen and the rest had given many a top Test player the slip this year and for the Mill Hill boys, watched by hundreds of their fellow pupils, it was a unique experience to share a field with them.
“I’m sure all our boys in their individual positions were looking at how they can improve themselves,” said Graeme Turner, Mill Hill’s director of rugby, whose team won the Middlesex Cup last month.
The connection was made by one of the Mill Hill parents who helped promote the trip made by the South African tourists.
Martey was among the London & South East Under-18s who gathered for a trial then a development session at Thurrock RFC on November 18 and December 2.
Next up is a further development session at Thurrock on December 16 before matches against the North (December 21) and the Midlands (December 23) in the Divisional Festival at Broadstreet RFC near Coventry.
