THE aftermath of the Prince Edward tour has had a lot to
unpack. It was a truly humbling and eye opening rugby excursion which almost
ended in tragedy.
Their bus was involved in an accident some 30km out of
Polokwane, on their way from Johannesburg.
And the man right at the centre of it all, Tawanda Jimu,
has since opened up on the experiences of Tigers’ trip to Johannesburg for the
St Stithians College Sports Festival.
Jimu travelled with the team as Tiger’s team manager, the
School’s Head of Delegation and Sports Master.
He also had a front seat view of the accident that had
parents, and countrymen alike, in a state of frenzy and panic last Tuesday
night.
“Where do I start? I literally saw the hand of God
throughout the debacle,” recounts the PE Sports Master
“We were some 30km or so outside of Polokwane and as you
might know that Johannesburg road has a lot of ramps and hills. We were going
downhill, when suddenly we saw this BMW swirling in road.
“The car burst its tyre and the driver lost control and
started veering towards us. Luckily, we managed to avoid the full impact of the
car when it hit us,” he said.
Once off the road, the car caught fire, Jimu and members of
the technical team assisted occupants in the car.
“I was right up front with other members of the technical
team when the car hit us.
“My immediate thought was on the kids on the bus, and once
we found out they were safe and uninjured, we went to assist the passengers in
the BMW, a couple and their two kids,” he said.
Aside the accident, Jimu hailed the Johannesburg Festival
which he saw as an opportunity for his boys to assess their progress.
“First of all, festivals like these are always welcome,
especially during the pre-season, as they give us an opportunity to assess and
gauge both our progress and standing in terms of Schools rugby.
“And with that in mind, I would say it was a success; we
went as underdogs, came up against top schools in Africa and the boys performed
really well.
“Obviously, results didn’t go our way, winning one game
against the Parktown Boys (28-19), but it wasn’t just about winning but
learning,” he said.
On the lessons learnt, Jimu said: “We are still a lagging
behind in terms of sports science, preparations and skills.
“We lost most of our games due to a lack of conditioning,
and we as coaches don’t put enough resources and energy into monitoring and
assessing the fitness levels.
“Until such a time, coaches and schools start taking more
holistic approaches to sport, we will always lag behind,” he said.
Tigers results at a glance
Prince Edward 12-48 St Stithians
Parktown Boys 19-28 Prince Edward
Prince Edward 14-34 SACS
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