The first 5,000 main stand tickets have gone on sale for the second leg of the 2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series, the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens at Outeniqua Park in George on 11-12 December.

South Africa Sevens coach Paul Treu will be hoping to enjoy more success in his home town, having guided the hosts to their first title on home soil en route to claiming the overall Series crown for the first time last season.

Tickets will cost R210 for the pool stages on Friday 11 December and R230 for the final day on Saturday and can be purchased at Computicket outlets across South Africa, via the call centre on 083 915 8000 and also online at www.computicket.com.

For fans in George and the surrounding areas, tickets can be purchased from the SWD Eagles ticket office at Outeniqua Park. The remainder of the seats will go on sale after 15 October.

“This tournament has grown so much in stature as a premier international event on the SA sporting calendar and I would urge rugby fans to book their tickets early so that they can avoid any disappointment,” said Khaya Mayedwa, SA Rugby’s Commercial Manager.

“We invested a lot of extra resources into last year’s event and the overwhelming feedback from supporters afterwards was that it was definitely best Sevens tournament held in South Africa.

“We are expecting a bumper turnout in George because of the huge amount of interest in Sevens rugby in our country at the moment.

“This is a tournament not to be missed so I would suggest that fans book their seats early so that they would be able to witness another exhilarating World Series tournament.”

(Pic: Alex Booysen)

The incredibly scenic Southern Cape town of George in 2008 hosted the 10th South African Sevens Tournament.  The home-team of course, had never before won an IRB Sevens Tournament on home soil.  This year they had a somewhat precarious draw, pitting them against southern hemisphere archrivals Australia, Georgia and the ever-improving USA. 

However, the Bokke seemed to draw extra strength from the win in Dubai a mere week before and like they did in Adelaide (Australia) during the previous season, defeated the George 2007 defending champions New Zealand to take a historical first-ever George Sevens title!

I remember writing the following on the FaceBook Event Page after the Cup Final:

It’s done.

I’m sitting here, thousands of miles away from George, and all I can say is…

I’m knackered.

I’m emotionally spent.

The Boys have won their second tournament of the Series.

And right now I have no words.

We’ll talk later.

We did talk later, only it was to say goodbye and Merry Christmas because the Bokke gave us a fantastic present and an incredible hope that the IRB Sevens World Series 2008/2009 may just be one to savour in the years to come. It is, after all, also a Sevens World Cup year.

Bok Strongmen: Frankie Horne getting ready to support Kyle Brown (Pic. Linda Ras)