“The social event of the year” was how many people described the Cape Town Tens in the week leading up to the event. I needed this explanation as I had never attended the previous five years of the Cape Town Tens – for no other reason than my ignorance it would seem.
Many of us would have experienced something similar in the past. It is promised to be amazing, out of this world, the best you’ve ever seen but sadly, it turns out to be quite the opposite. Such events have a tendency to be a let down to the spectator.
However, the rave reviews from previous years was enough to get the excitement going as Saturday crept ever closer. Then – quite a bit earlier than usual – my alarm sent shockwaves through my system on Saturday morning.
Upon our arrival at the Hamilton’s Rugby Club it was immediately apparent that we were surrounded by beauty. Nokia ladies dressed in their sexy blue skirts, SA Rugby magazine girls handing out their prestigious magazines, BLK girls giving pamphlets freely and then just the general female spectator. Oh, I almost forgot, the day was also enjoyed in the shadows of Table Mountain and the Cape Town stadium which is not bad in itself – you get where my preference naturally lay however.
The Mother City also decided to grace us with her finest behaviour, with temperatures expected to be in the mid 20’s with minimal wind. It had the makings of a great day.
And so it turned out to be.
The Cape Town Tens is a far cry from just another sports day. Rugby is definitely a massive attraction but without everything else, it would be nothing short of average.
The organisers, with Nokia as their headline sponsor, managed to bring everything together and made it an occasion not to be missed again.
As already mentioned, the beauty was something to behold and it was no different from the ladies checking our tickets at the entrance. First impressions definitely last.
After canvassing the area for a while it was time to watch the Blitzbokke play New Zealand in the sevens cup final – which naturally meant it was time for our first beer (and my last) of the day.
What made the Cape Town Tens so unusually good is the diversity of people in attracts. You don’t need to be a rugby fan, or in this year’s case, a netball fan to attend. Families were more than welcome at the event with kids play areas and plenty of space – it wasn’t too crowded in many areas.
The organisers and sponsors literally had everything covered. Nothing was an inconvenience. There were plentiful toilets – they even had some very pretty ladies walking around rubbing sunscreen on those who had forgotten – I’m pretty sure many guys left there with far too much sunscreen on them.
Eventually I sat down and watched a game of rugby at the main field. It was a knock out game which Maties won comfortably – who they played is unknown to me. What I do know is wherever you looked; very good looking girls were there.
The rugby consisted for six divisions, the Nokia Premier, Light Beer 1, Light beer 2, Heavy beer, Mainly here for beer and the UTi Vets divisions. There was also a Nokia Tag league.
While enjoying some laughs at one of the lower division games – going by the quality of play it must have been the ‘Mainly here for beer’ division – we noticed Dolphins batsman, David Miller along with team mate, Robbie Frylinck. With the RamSlam T20 final the following day I expected them to be tucked away in their hotel room but fortunately, their Tens expedition did not hamper them in the final.
My camera continued to snap away as the day went on but soon after midday we went over to enjoy some of the netball. Due to the sights on display, I suffered a momentary lapse in concentration – for about two hours – for obvious reasons (FHM had a team for heaven’s sake).
I was eventually brought out of my lapse by a mate. Not happy with the amount of photo’s I was taking – still not sure why it bothered him – he said repeatedly, “You the worst media person I have ever seen.” I might have felt offended but the knowledge that he’d already slugged down about six beers in the sun brought be comfort.
Nevertheless, it awoke me from my mini coma. The camera came out again as we continued to enjoy the netball, mainly the FHM team of course. Don’t judge, you would (or should) have done the same.
The FHM team didn’t win a game but then again, winning isn’t everything right? Well, not to us at least.
The sun started beaming down as the day wore on as more and more people started to seek shelter. The massive beer tent with DJ and live music was the choice for most.
Credit must go to the teams – netball and rugby – who fought it out through that afternoon sun in search of victory or whatever else they came there for.
People kept streaming through the gates until well into the afternoon. The attendance for Saturday is unknown to me but at a very wild guess, I reckon they beat last year’s 12 000.
Events such as the Cape Town Tens can often turn into a farce. There is so much planning, preparation, time schedules etc that it becomes difficult to monitor, but the organizers and sponsors should take plenty credit for the way the day was handled. From what I saw, there were also no major crowed issues as there often is when men, rugby, beer and woman mix.
Unfortunately for us, the sun took its toll on us during the day and the after party flew off our agenda. We headed off with the sun already low in the sky – it was an awesome day with good people, good sport and well, a hell of a lot of woman.
Next year promises to be bigger and better – it will not be missed again.
Before I forget, the Nokia Premier Division was won by Western Province who beat Hamilton Raiders in the final. All results can be seen here
Article contributed by Ralph / @Ralph_MUFC
