The Bokke at the Links and the arrival of the English!! – See photos taken this week

To whet all your appetites before the final Rugby Test between South Africa and England in Port Elizabeth tomorrow, we bring you two photo galleries of the English team arriving at PE airport this week and the Sprinboks at St Francis Links golf course in St Francis Bay.

South Africa and England meet in the third and last Test of the 2012 series in Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth tomorrow afternoon and almost half of St Francis it seems will be attending the live match. There has been much scrabbling for accommodatiuon I hear..

Ahead of this exciting match, St Francis Links secured a great prize by having the Springbok rugby players playing on the golf estate and having breakfast at the golf club. This was on Thursday, though they arrived the night before.

Boks 007-001 — Seen above are Ruan Pienaar, Morne Steyn,and Wynand Olivier

Booke group — Above are Joe Peterson, Ruan Pienaar, Brian Habana, Wynand olivier, Flip van der Merwe, Morne Steyn and G Aplon

According to Jeff Clause,, MD of the Links he smsed his friend Bryan Habana to see if there was an off day for the Boks and if so could they make out to St Francis Links for the day.

Boks with Santa — Jeff Clause with Morne Sten and other Springboks.

“ To my surprise, he replied almost instantly with the desire to bring some guys through. He even asked about accommodation so they could play early and get back without complication.

“Thanks to one of our supporting members, a house was donated and the rest was history. I have looked after many sporting teams and players through the years with the sole purpose being to give them a fun and relaxed day with little or no fanfare (to protect their privacy). I was extremely proud of Quintin, my F&B manager and Chef Brad when they put together a full braai with all the fixins’ when the Boks arrived late on Wednesday, around 10., 30 pm.

“This I think set the stage for a great break before the Test match this weekend. After the midnight braai and a good sleep the boys were here early for breakfast and golf, For some of the guys it was serious golf and for the rest, just a fun day. They were so appreciative of all that was laid out for them!

After golf, Santa burgers were packed as takeaways and the Boks were off to practice. “We received great comments, smses and emails from the players,” Jeff says.

Staff and Chili BoyBokke Hi res — Links staff and Chilli Boy

“Best of all, Bryan tweeted to his 100,000 followers about what a memorable day it was. I like that – more great ambassadors for St Francis Links and St Francis Bay!

Photos of the Boks supplied by Jeff of St Francis Links.

Then the English arrived to the joyous welcome and fanfare put on by Ruth Mackintosh and her African Drumbeat drummers and dancers in delightful African costumes. Ruth kindly shared these photos with St Francis Chronicle.