For our last day in Stellenbosch we ventured into wine country. En route to the vineyard we stopped off at a remote rugby academy where we were guided through a training session by the director. This rugby academy has 50 'students' who have just finished their final school exams. They are drafted into this academy where they train 5 days a week and stay in the provided accommodation for 10 months. It is the only private rugby academy in the country. The other 10 (roughly) are set up by the SA Rugby Union and act as feeders for professional South African teams. The facilities are top drawer and are perfect if you want to train hard and turn pro. I did sense that it would get very claustrophobic living in such close conditions for an extended period of time. You would want to be extremely dedicated in order to stick it here! The training session was enjoyable and helpful as it made the breakdown rules more clear.
After this training session some battered pallets attempted to sample South African's finest wines. The tasting was good craic. Most of the lads favoured the white wine as the red was a bit smoky with a strong berry finish... But I'm no expert!
We have a huge day ahead tomorrow so tonight should be pretty chilled.