England’s misery adds to Boks’ delight
THE final ignominy for the England rugby team came yesterday when the Springboks moved into their minkand-manure base at the ultra-posh Pennyhill Park Hotel near the town of Bagshot, deep in the Surrey countryside.
The 123-acre country resort borders the famous Wentworth golf course, a venue for European Tour events, and is in an 8km equidistance from Windsor Castle, Ascot race course, and Sandhurst, the military academy where the crème de la crème of the British Army do their officer training.
The hotel and spa, which dates back to the 1850s, is a popular retreat for celebrities and among its long-term residents have been Hollywood stars in Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas and Russell Crowe while it is also a favourite hide out of pop star Justin Timberlake and Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton.
Prior to the start of the tournament, each team’s manager drew a number out of a hat, with the team drawing the lowest number having the pick of the appointed hotels. Ironically, England drew No1 and could have remained at their Pennyhill home but have suffered the humiliation of not making it beyond the Pool stages of their own World Cup.
The Boks had a good draw out of the hat and have pinched Pennyhill for their quarter-final preparations against Wales, which has state of the art rugby facilities built especially for their best customers, the England rugby team, and is far from the media and public glare.
In fact the press, the humble fourth estate, have infamously never been allowed near the hotel itself, and press conferences are held in a marquis tent near the gate, a considerable and comfortable distance away from the distinguished guests.
Nevertheless, it is known that the hotel provides the England team (and now the Boks) with exclusive use of a state of the art gym, weights area, changing rooms as well as an artificial 3G grass pitch indoors over a 40x40m radium, as well as a manicured full-size outdoors pitch, which on its own cost R22-million. And after training, the Boks can relax in a heated outdoor swimming pool while taking in the tranquil English countryside.
The Boks might be an hour and half’s journey from London, and far from the shopping and entertainment hub of the world, but in their time off from training they can indulge themselves in pursuits reserved for the rich and famous: golf at Wentworth, clay-pigeon-shooting, archery and interestingly, tank driving (courtesy of Sandhurst) and of all things, duck herding.
And the Boks could not be in better nutritional hands. England celebrity chef Michael Wignall, the resident ‘Gordon Ramsay’, heads a restaurant that boasts two Michelin stars and has won four AA Rosettes – whatever the heck that means!
Wignall might be horrified to learn that in the Springbok media guide, half the Boks list steak and chips as their preferred dish.