19th Tour - 1999
This was not the Knights 1st visit to our club but it's the 1st
one that we have information for. My recollection of that 1st visit
was our decision to host the Knights for the 1st time. A request
had been made for us to host the Knights and we discussed it our
next committee meeting.
At the time South Africa still had apartheid, and demonstrators
had invaded the pitch at Twickenham when the South African
Springboks played England. We decided to host the tourists and have
done so ever since.
1998/99 Tour Brochure
|
|
|
20th Tour - 2001
Where did those 2 years go? The Knights are with us once again.
Having never beaten the Knights, and anticipating their strength,
we knew we were no match for them as a club. We contacted our ex
club champion Alan Barwise and a team of 'better' players were
invited to represent our club. Result: packed house, great night,
we still haven't beat the Knights.
2000/01 Tour Brochure
|
 |
|
21st Tour - 2003
For this visit we invited our County captain and our County No1
to play for us, added to that we also managed to get the Lancashire
No 3 & 4 to play in our 'select' team. We know as a club we are
not strong enough to match the Knights, so by inviting players in
we aimed to give them a good game and to give the spectators
something to shout about. Did we beat them? No we did not!
We did however manage to win one game. See the match report.
Report
|
 |
 |
22nd Tour - 2005
Dependant on the exchange rate cash can become tight for the
Knights on tour. We are the 1st fixture after Christmas and by now
the Knights are three-quarters of the way through their tour. We
usually provide accommodation for the boys, and make sure they are
well 'fed and watered' after the match. If you want to know how
well we do this, ask a past Knight. (Our hospitality, on the
understanding that nothing is too much trouble for us, is legendary
according to the tourists )!
2004/05 Tour Brochure Post card
|
 |
 |
23rd Tour - 2007
We try to get as much out of the Knights visit as possible,
getting the boys to give some coaching to our youngsters before
they play their match. This they are more than willing to do, and
it's now a feature of their visits to our club. The youngsters get
a Knights program and get the players to autograph them. Signing
autographs, playing to a full house and winning. What more could
you want!
2006/07 Tour Brochure Knights 2007 press report Knights Press Report 2
|
 |
|
24th Tour - 2009
This year our team comprised mainly club players. The Knights
thrashed us, but our new younger side will be more suited to the
task in 2 years time. This is our club's 50th year so a win would
have been nice, but it was not to be. Still, no shame in loosing to
the Knights, most teams do. Looking forward to the 2011 tour,
perhaps that could be our year?
2008/09 Tour Brochure
|
 |
 |
25th Tour - 2011
Alas this year wasn't to be our year again. The Knights arrived
with 4 junior players all under 22 years old, and despite us
picking the clubs best and the counties top two players also, we
still came second best. This year we hosted them for 2 nights, as
they had always expressed a wish on previous trips to visit the
Lake District whilst here. This they did on the Thursday before
taking our junior coaching sessions, followed by a fun challenge
competition using 'old wooden rackets'. We look forward to meeting
the next South Africa Knights players in 3013, hopefully that will
be our year?
2010/11 Tour Brochure Report
|
 |
 |
