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The Lion King's

7/ 7/2004

THE King's School's rugby squad is pictured before leaving on a gruelling 19-day tour to play South Africa's leading school and provincial sides.

The trip is the largest ever undertaken by the ambitious Macclesfield school and sees their first, second and third team take on teams in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Capetown.

It is the latest in a trail-blazing series of tours that have seen King's sides travel across Australasia, South America, Canada and Europe.

King's Coach Andy Rice said: "Rugby is not merely a sport in South Africa it is a religion - and our teams will come up against some of the most committed young rugby players in the world."

He added: "We intend to give as good as we get and use the tour as a sharp learning curve for next season's matches on the Northern schools' circuit."

He added that King's had joined forces with Macclesfield and Wilmslow rugby clubs, with those clubs respective coaches Brendan Thomas and Steve Mannion, offering specialist coaching expertise throughout the South African tour.

"Top local coaches want to monitor the next generation of developing players and they realise that King's is a fertile seed bed for tomorrow's top talent," said Andy.

As well as playing rugby the part of 50 boys and seven coaches will have a chance to see how the new multi-cultural South Africa is emerging from apartheid. Educational visits are planned to both to the Province's glittering hot spots and to the heart of rural South Africa and the shanty towns.

King's Headmaster Dr Stephen Coyne said: "It is important that these tours offer more than a sporting experience but offer the boys an insight into the life and culture of different nations."