We are proud of you Boys!!

30 August 2005
By Phindile Khambule

It is really unbelievable how the South African Buffaloes impressed everyone in Melbourne, Australia with their improvement in the International Cup 2005.
In the past International Cup(2002), the Buffaloes finished in last position with no wins at all. But this time it was a different story, last was not going to be acceptable! They pushed themselves to the eigthth position with two wins against Japan & Spain. The win against Japan marked the first time South Africa were victorious in an International match.

Even though the Buffaloes lost four games, other countries would support me on saying that “It wasn’t easy to beat the Buffaloes, they were really fighting for the ball.” This will defanetly go into AFLSA’s history books.

Mtutuzeli Hlomela(Captain) was elected for the second time, and Steven Malinga to be on the International cup’s dream team. Garry Learmonth(Former development Officer in South Africa) and His fiancee donated a trophy for the player’s player award. The team voted for the best player after each game and the winners for each round were as follows:

1st vs USA – Kobus Smit and Lebogang Sekete
2nd vs Japan – Wilco Jonker and Odin Williams
3rd vs Ireland – Julian Horn
4th vs Spain – Wilco Jonker
5th vs Samoa – Andries Mangweng
6th vs Canada – Bryan Mitchell

Unfortunately only one player from the above players had tto take the trophy homee and the lucky player was Wilco Jonker. This was really a huge experience and even an unforgetable moment for everyone.

 

Long trek from Itsoseng to Riverland for Buffaloes vice captain

By Brett Northey from http://www.worldfootynews.com
25 August 2005

Sport often generates great stories of people rising above adversity. This is one such story, following the journey of a young South African from a dead-end path on the streets of Itsoseng to a scholarship in the South Australian Riverland and representing his country in Melbourne at the Australian Football International Cup.

Tefo Benjamin Motuba, or Benji, grew up in South Africa’s North West Province at a time when the apartheid era was coming to an end, but although freedom brought hope to many, the people did not receive economic salvation and the mission to raise the standard of living for all of the country’s people will be long and difficult. Born in the small town of Itsoseng, where opportunities were few, Benji was the youngest in his family, and his mother supported them all as well as members of the extended family. Despite this she found herself homeless and for a time raising her children with only trees for shelter. After a short stay in Klerksdorp they returned to Itsoseng in 1990 and Benji began school. By just eight years of age he was skipping class and found himself mixed up in drugs and crime. It would be fair to say that his life was headed for oblivion. The one thing that saved Benji was sport.

In his own words: \”One day it happened that I found myself in the stadium when it was the school athletics. The teachers were calling the names of the schools in the tracks and one of the schools were not having a representative and I notice that and I get in the track with other children for 100m run. And I became first in that race and the teachers wanted to write my name and I told them that I don’t attend any school. They advise me to go to school because I have the great future and the only thing that can make my dream and future be successful is to attend the school\”.

Benji’s mother desperately wanted to see him get a good education, and he convinced her that he would do that if he could go to another school. In 1996 he started at Maokaneng primary and \”from that day I told myself that I will educate myself and help my family\”. He soon began representing his school and province in running, but it was in 1998 when an Australian Defence Force group toured the area, introducing Australian Rules football, that the young South African found his calling. Soon the best players had been selected and were flown to Canberra for the Jim Stynes Cup, an Aussie Rules tournament to promote the game amongst juniors around the world (it has since become the Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament). To travel to Australia was an opportunity that the young boy from Itsoseng could not have dreamed of, yet two more trips would follow.

With the help of the Sporting Coaches’ Outreach program (SCORE), Tattersals and the AFL, Australian football has continued to grow through the AFL South Africa. In 2002 the inaugural International Cup was held in Melbourne, featuring eleven sides from around the world. Benji was selected and made his second international journey, representing \”the Buffaloes\” with pride. Ireland defeated Papua New Guinea in the final, while Australia did not compete as the other countries are still in the early development phase. Although the Africans went without a win, it was clear that bigger and better things were being planned. The Aussie Rules program has since been expanded to include Gauteng Province (which includes the large cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria) and plans are being made for Western Cape (the most well known city being Cape Town). As the development focuses on children, it may be a few more years before the results of this work is seen at senior level.

Dreaming of Africa

A world away in country South Australia, Betty Lloyd’s family worked a citrus orchard. She had visited South Africa many years earlier and it was well known that she dreamed of returning to make a difference, perhaps working in an orphanage. Betty and her husband Ray raised a family and also fostered many other children for varying periods. When Ray passed away Betty’s friends assumed she would be inextricably drawn back to Africa, but instead she took over the farm to secure her family’s future. All the while she was wondering how she could fulfill her African dream. Actively involved with her local footy club, the Lyrup Lions, one day Betty was surfing the net for graphics to help with the club’s promotions, when she stumbled across the London Lions and San Diego Lions – Australian Rules football clubs in England and the US. Like many, she had no idea that the game she loved was now widely played overseas. So began her interest in footy beyond Australia’s shores.

In early 2005 a team of amateur footballers toured South Africa, and Betty joined the squad, videoing their three matches and three Auskick clinics. Originally one of her sons was to play, but the tour date moved and as irrigation manager he was needed on the family farm. Fortunately Betty still chose to go on the tour. \”The Convicts\” played against sides representing North West and Gauteng Provinces, and finished against the South African national side in Soweto. Upon returning to Australia Betty heard that AFL South Africa were trying to send a player to Australia on a scholarship. She contacted CEO Steve Harrison and offered to host a player and Steve was delighted to begin a selection process. After visa delays and much hard work by Steve and AFL South Africa Chairman (and former Melbourne player and Victorian Minister) Brian Dixon, Benji Motuba was selected as an excellent candidate and was headed for Australia.

Benji arrived in Adelaide in late June and travelled to Lyrup with Betty for the three month scholarship. He was quickly training and has begun playing for the Lions in the Riverland Football League. In his first game he played on the wing and was named fourth best in a narrow loss. The rollercoaster ride continues, as in his short stay he has also been to see Port Power defeat Melbourne before a crowd of 28000 at AAMI Stadium and attended the after match function where Port coach Mark Williams offered him the chance to experience a training run with the club. Benji has already watched an Adelaide Crows session, and will be involved in Auskick clinics and learning about the day to day running of the Lyrup club. He’s pictured at left with his favourite player, the Power’s Byron Pickett.

With the second International Cup to take place in Melbourne in early August, Benji has been named vice captain, behind Mtutuzeli Hlomela, another player with South Aussie connections. \”Mtutu\” spent a season with SANFL club Sturt in the under 19s back in 1998, also on a scholarship. From this contribution by the Double Blues 7 years ago, Mtutu has gone on to develop silky skills, founded a club in Soweto, and will take over as national coach for the Buffaloes when Steve Harrison finishes his work with AFL South Africa after the International Cup.

If you think all the aforementioned achievements and experiences would be overwhelming for Benji, think again. Still only 21 years old, what was most obvious when meeting him in Adelaide were his clear goals and sharp attention to every detail of football. He was anxious for feedback on the style of games played during the Convicts tour, and had spent his time at the Port Adelaide match analysing the play – obviously he is the modern day footballer, where tactics are seen as important as the physical skills of the sport.

From Roots to Fruits

Benji has many hopes for the future. Firstly he is determined to ensure that South Africa break through for their first international win at the upcoming Cup. He will then return to Lyrup (he’s pictured at right with the team) for the remainder of the season, before heading home with plans to complete his final year of schooling. His dream then is to pursue sports management, with the hope of continuing the development of Aussie Rules, netball, handball and hockey. \”The reason why I am choosing sports as my first priority is because sports has saved my life out of the streets\”. In fact this impressive young man goes so far as to say that the AIDS problem, devastating whole communities in his homeland, would be better fought with sport than the condoms which are now routinely handed out in a belated attempt to stop the disease. Benji sees sport as giving people hope and direction and as a key to encouraging healthier lifestyles and keeping kids away from dangers. He wants to develop sport from grassroots to fruits, that is give young boys and girls the chance to reach their full potential.

It’s an ambitious dream, and will need support from many people. One wonders how many other clubs out there like Sturt and Lyrup can help fast track the development of a young Australian Rules footballer from another country? How many Betty Lloyds might come forward to ensure the sport has an international future, while doing something positive to help struggling communities abroad?

 

The Buffaloes Squad Picked

June 29 2005
By-Jack Arnold

The South African National team for Australian Football’s International Cup to be held in Melbourne in August has been picked.

The selection period started in late January when representative teams played a series of three games against The Australian Convicts. Subsequently there have been two training camps, an intra squad practice match and numerous training sessions in Mafikeng/Itsoseng, Johannesburg and Potchefstroom. To make the squad the players were required to show the skills, commitment and fitness levels fitting of a national team.

The squad was trimmed from 44 players to a traveling group of 29. The team will be traveling to Melbourne in late July. The first of six games in 11 days will be against the USA on Wednesday August 3^rd. The team will arrive back in Johannesburg on Monday August 15^th.

After a lot of discussion and some very hard decisions Head Coach, Steven Harrison and Development Officer, Jack Arnold, together with the selection committee selected the touring squad. The selection committee feel they have picked an even team with players coming from far and wide. The squad showcases the Australian Football talent in South Africa, and this team has the ability to break through for South Africa’s first international win.

The squad is as follows:

Johannesburg; Conrad Janse Van Rensburg, Jacques Steenekamp, Duane Vermeulen, Mtutuzeli Hlomela (C), Matthew Fick, Bryan Mitchell, Odin Williams, Abie Macfarlane, Steven Malinga

Mafikeng; Motheo Kesimolotse, Matthews Lenyidi, Lebopo Matoma, Keagile Garenamotse, Soloman Mogorosi

Itsoseng; Andries Mangweng, Benji Motuba (VC), Molefi Moletsane, Tumelo Modisane, Tebogo Motlhaoleng

Potchefstroom; Willem Jonker, William Van Der Berg, Heino De Jongh, July Machethe

Klerksdorp; Lebogang Sekete

Christiana; McDonald Mashigo

Vryburg; Neo Sambo, Dineo Sambo

Ramatlabama; Martin Moeng

Stellenbosch; Kobus Smit

There are two players gaining valuable footy experience in different parts of the world. Benji Motuba has just begun a three month stint in Australia. He will be playing for the Lyrup Football Club in South Australia.

Kobus Smit from Stellenbosch is currently playing footy for the Wimbledon Hawks in the British Australian Rules Football League. Kobus will be arriving back in South Africa in time for the teams departure for Melbourne.

Keeping checking this website in the lead up to the International Cup for selected player profiles.

 

 

Buffaloes on the rise

By Steve Harrison

18 April 2005

The Buffaloe’s campaign for this August’s International Cup hotted up last weekend with the first of three training camps being held at Potchefstroom’s Artillery base. Thirty players and six officials attended the gruelling camp, which culminated in a fantastic inter-squad match. Also in attendance was former Melbourne champion and AFL South Africa Chairperson Brian Dixon, who took part in several of the sessions”.

A notable difference in the squad from the last time the South Africans visited Melbourne is that the squad is mixed race, with the recent introduction of Afrikaans and Coloured players, together with Tswana, Zulu and Xhosa players. The South Africans are looking for their first win in international competition after having competed in the 2002 International Cup in Melbourne, and the U16 Jim Stynes Cup in Canberra in 1998.

The players were put through their paces by Honours Students from the North West University’s Sports Science Department in the first round of fitness tests. Some players shone in the 20m and 35m sprints, and others in the notorious beep test.

Several training sessions focussing on skills and tactics were put to use on Sunday with a tightly contested game, with players desperate to assert themselves. Several improved players have got the selectors excited. Camp 2 will be held on 20-22 May also in Potchefstroom.

Legends of the game help raise funds for AFL South Africa as seen on www.afl.com.au

Ron Barassi, Kevin Sheedy, Grant Thomas and Brian Dixon (Chair, AFL South Africa) have joined forces in an attempt to raise funds for AFL South Africa.

AFL South Africa are striving to bring a team to Melbourne, this August, to participate in the Australian Football International Cup. Having participated in the inaugural International Cup (August 2002), and with the growth of participation in and popularity of Australian Football in South Africa, AFL South Africa want to ensure other indigenous South African players have an opportunity to be part of this exceptional experience.

Ron Evans, Chairman AFL Commission, unveiled a unique painting to be auctioned at a special fundraising dinner later this month. Barassi, Sheedy, Thomas and Dixon, who all feature in the piece entitled ‘Dare to Dream’, were on hand to speak about their special relationship and feelings toward, not only the painting, but their experiences and views on football in South Africa.

Mr Evans said, ‘The AFL conducted the first Australian Football International cup in 2002 to support the volunteers who conduct numerous leagues around the world and to provide a central focus and camaraderie for those groups.

Given the work we are currently doing in South Africa and the prospects for establishing a strong participation base in that country, it is critical that we have a South African team here in August. I am therefore very pleased to support Brian in his efforts to raise $30,000 at the forthcoming dinner.’

Michael Britter (known for his recent painting ‘Pharlap’) was also at the unveiling and talked about his inspirational piece ‘Dare to Dream’, depicting a mythical future Australian Football test – Australia v South Africa. Michael has used his creativity coupled with extensive research to provide a glimpse into this ‘future’ event – a capacity crowd at the MCG awaits the start of the match between the South African Buffalos and the All Australians as the legends look on.

The painting will be auctioned at a dinner being hosted by the AFL, Tattersalls and William Angliss on Wednesday 16 March 2005.

Tickets to the dinner can be purchased by contacting Ed Biggs – (03) 9643 1944

The Convicts Tour of South Africa

January 14, 2005

By Steven Harrison
The South African senior players are getting fired up to test
themselves against some Aussie competition as the Australian
‘Convicts’, a visiting team from Australia, pack their bags for a two
week tour of South Africa’s North West and Gauteng Provinces.

During their tour, the Convicts will play three games against the
South African senior players who are keen to get further experience
under their belts in preparation for the International Cup in August in
Melbourne. The matches will be played in Potchefstroom and Mafikeng in
the North West, and the famous Soweto township in Jahannesburg,
Gauteng.

As well as the matches, the Convicts will conduct Auskick style
Footy Clinics for the growing number of kids taking up Australian
Football. Four clinics are planned in early February for the towns of
Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, Itsoseng and Ramatlabama.
This tour comes soon after the successful visit of AFL club St
Kilda, who spent three weeks in Potchefstroom on a pre season training
camp in November and December 2004.

The Convicts, who have also toured Europe and North America, are
looking forward to playing a big part in developing Aussie Rules in a
very unique and often difficult environment.
AFL South Africa and the Convicts are planning further tours from the
Convicts in the years to come. A full itinerary of the tour can be
found at http://www.convicts.com.au

Rovers making a name in South Africa

Friday 14th January 2005

There are many Melbourne Bayside kids over the years that have played their first game of Footy in a Hampton Rovers Jumper. These days, there are kids in the unlikely town of Bodibe in South Africa also experiencing their first taste of Australian Football wearing the Green and Gold. This is thanks to a recent donation of Jumpers from the Hampton Rovers Football Club in Melbourne to the AFL’s Australian Football program in South Africa.

The jumpers supplied by Bill Jowett have made their way to the township of Bodibe, 300 km west of Johannesburg in South Africa’s North West Province. Bodibe and the surrounding towns of Itsoseng and Verdwaal each have an under 13, and an under 16 team, and enough senior players to make one combined side. Pictured are the Bodibe under 16 team playing on their home ground in September 2004.

Most of the teams participating in AFL South Africa’s leagues and carnivals rely on donations of footy uniforms and other equipment. Many players play in bare feet, some in their school uniforms, and all without mouthguards. Most fields have no grass, and the players sometimes have to help in removing the larger rocks and stones before the games commence. Given all that, one can imagine the value these players would place on their own set of ‘proper’ Aussie Rules uniforms. AFL South Africa and the players themselves are very thankful to the Rovers for their donation.

The South African senior national team, ‘the Buffaloes’ will be competing in the AFL’s International Cup in Melbourne in August this year. They are looking forward to joining a BBQ at the Rovers clubrooms with some of the other competing teams. The Bodibe Football Club wish the Rovers well in 2005!

Steve Harrison

Executive Officer/Head Coach AFL South Africa

(and former Rovers Junior Player!)

Footys Bid for an African Heartbeat

April 24, 2004

The Age, Melbourne

It will be a long time coming – perhaps half a century – but some of Australian football’s dreamers see the possibility of a tri-nations tournament involving South Africa. So they have set about sowing the seeds, reports Michael Bleby from Johannesburg.

In the dry and dusty town of Mafikeng, 250 kilometres west of Johannesburg, a bunch of Australian football fanatics from Melbourne are trying to transplant their love of the game to rugby-mad South Africa. Today, their dream of one day seeing a national league, and even a high-level international competition, takes its next step with the first provincial, or state-level games.

The ambitious project is the brainchild of Brian Dixon, former Melbourne premiership player and Victoria’s sports minister from 1973-82. Founder of the “Life. Be in it” campaign, Dixon has long promoted recreation and healthy living.

In 2001 he brought together a Cape Town-based organisation that develops sport in poor communities, the Melbourne-based Australian Volunteers International and the AFL to support a program that is boosting fitness and sowing an interest in the game among youngsters in post-apartheid South Africa.

There is a need for such a program. In Mafikeng and the surrounding North West province, where poverty is high and the literacy rate is just 57 per cent, education resources do not stretch as far as physical education in many schools.

Dixon has been trying to raise the international profile of “the greatest game in the world” since the early 1960s, when he played in demonstration games in New Zealand and the US. As well as providing much-needed sports teaching, he believes the project presents a great chance to spread the word about Australian football.

“It’s the exposure of a great game to six billion, rather than 20 million, people,” Dixon said. “If Australian rules is going to compete with all the other professional sports, then it’s got to have an international focus. If it doesn’t, then in 100 years, it’s going to be defunct.”

It is still early days, but what the teams lack in skill in today’s inaugural games, they will make up for in enthusiasm. “They’ve been looking forward to this day,” said trainer Steve Harrison. “It’s the first inter-provincial we’ve had in South Africa and they can say that they’ve represented their province. It’s a good incentive to play well.”

It has been Harrison’s job to pull together the matches, between North West and Gauteng provinces. As executive officer of Footy South Africa, the local game’s fledgling association, the 26-year-old, who is also from Melbourne, has been working since September to train coaches and players and to develop a following for the game.

The players competing today will come from townships outside rural Mafikeng, from the ranks of university students in Pretoria and from coloured communities outside Johannesburg. The standard will be similar to Australian high school level and the players will be pooling jumpers, but enthusiasm is high. “Our chances are quite good,” said Mtutuzeli Hlomela, the 23-year-old coach of the Gauteng team. “The one thing we don’t have is much experience. There are guys that only started this week.”

Australian football is not new to South Africa. Australian gold miners organised a league when they were not hunting the precious metal as early as the 1890s. Off-duty soldiers played it during the Boer War. But this time around, a couple of aid organisations, the AFL and a local sporting academy are combining forces to promote physical fitness.

It’s going to take time to boost the standard of the local game. A tri-nations-style Autralian footrball competition including South Africa is still 50 years away, Dixon reckons. If the game is going to take root here, it will need coaching for children of all ages, up to senior level.

Organisers hope to create a coaching accreditation program with the Mafikeng-based North West Academy of Sport later this year, with funding coming from the AFL, Tattersalls and the South African Lotto, as well as from the sports academy. Harrison’s home club, the Melbourne High School Old Boys’ club, which plays in the Victorian amateur league, will also be hosting a South African player for a year.

“In the next five years, it’s not unrealistic to think of 10,000 young people playing Australian rules football,” Dixon said Australian football offers more than fitness. It is a new sport in a new country, says Mtutuzeli, or “Tutu” as everyone calls him. “Soccer is predominantly black,” Tutu said. “Rugby is predominantly white. This sport will offer a chance to both black and white. That’s one goal – to get the sport as multiracial as possible.”

For the South Africans, there is another immediate goal. In August 2005, the next Australian Rules International Cup will be played in Melbourne. South Africa’s players want to improve on their 2002 performance, when they came 11th out of 11 teams. “We played New Zealand in our first game and they walloped us,” said Tutu, who spent 1998 in Adelaide, training with Sturt’s under-19 reserves.

The game is growing in popularity. Neo Nage, a 22-year-old IT student in Pretoria, started playing “Aussie” by accident two years ago, when he thought he was going to learn American football, with helmets and padding. “I tried it anyway, and now I like Aussie more than American!” he said, laughing.

Last year he set up a team on campus. He was also one of the South African players in 2002 who look forward to a better performance next year. “We came last, now the last will be first!” Nage said. “I want to get New Zealand. I want us to get a good position so we can be recognised by Australia as far as Aussie is concerned.”

Mtutuzeli Hlomela’s Story

By Steven Harrison.

Mtutuzeli Hlomela Player Profile

It was Mtutuzeli Hlomela’s Aunt that got his Australian Football career started when she sent in his application for a one year football scholarship in Australia, a joint initiative of the South Australian Department of Sport and Recreation and the Western Cape Department of Recreation and Sport.

Mtutu, who has a strong soccer background, welcomed an interview for the scholarship as a possible opportunity to play soccer overseas – a boyhood dream.

His interview took place in January 1998 in Cape Town. One of the early questions was “Do you know what Aussie Rules is?”, to which he could only reply “no”. As the panel started describing the game to him, something was stirring in the back of his mind…. ‘ah yeah’, he thought. ‘THAT game!’ He was able to tell the panel that he had seen it once or twice before on Gillette World Sport on South Africa’s SABC1 channel and that he would be able to pick it up in no time.

Mtutu played soccer in the South African National League with Wits University (Johannesburg) in the reserve side in 2000-2001. He also captained the Wits University senior student team at intervarsity level whilst studying there. Despite a love for Soccer, he says his heart didn’t sink when he discovered the traineeship was for Australian Football. “It was still an opportunity to go overseas – something I had never done before, and I saw it as a challenge.”

He was told at the interview that 200 people had applied for the position, but no more than three hours later he was made an offer. Three weeks later he was in Adelaide at a pre season training session.

“I turned up at Sturt (Football Club) in the middle of summer wearing my brand new shiny football boots – something I assumed everyone would be wearing, only to find everyone training in sandshoes. This, and the fact that I looked and sounded different, made me a bit nervous.” Then came swimming practice, and Mtutu said “I couldn’t swim properly!”

It turned out that Mtutu could play the new code well. He played for the Sturt Football Club Under 19 team, a club based in Adelaide and playing in the South Australian Football League. He did this whilst studying Sports Administration at Adelaide TAFE and doing part time clerical work at the South Australian Department of Sport and Recreation.

Whilst he says Adelaide is place where he could easily live, Mtutu admits to initially having a fair degree of culture shock. You could imagine the adjustments he must have made, not only dealing with living in a new country, but also coping with footy club culture. “The club culture is very strong in Australia, and also very different to soccer clubs at home, but I love it.” The widely practiced after game drinks “acts as a legitimate mechanism for relationship building and team building. Win or lose, everyone would do it ….and its great the way the older guys really looked after the younger guys and got to know them”.

He also met with many a famous face whilst living in Adelaide. He had a cup of tea with the Governor General, got to know Adelaide Football Club’s Andrew Mcloed quite well, met Hawthorn’s Shane Crawford on a plane, and introduced himself to a topless Kylie Minogue on an Adelaide beach! (The writer would like to note that Mtutu has in fact met two of the greatest Australians ever – Shane Crawford and Kylie Minogue).

“Me and a few friends were on a break from TAFE, and we were just hanging out on the beach. Then someone spotted her – topless and by herself.” After a few moments of daring one another, it was Mtutu that approached her and introduced himself. However, it wasn’t long before an unknown male companion re-joined the pop goddess. “My friends still said I was a legend”.

It was 2002 when Mtutu revisited Australia, this time as a representative for the South African national team, competing in the International Cup of Australian Football in Melbourne. He considers the highlight of that tournament as being able to stand there in a South African Jumper and sing the national anthem. “Fighting for that jumper was such a great incentive.” The team was unable to win a game, and Mtutu believes the competition, especially from the top few teams was strong. Despite this, he believes a top four finish in the 2005 International Cup is possible. “We’ll work on a more tactical game and be better prepared next time”.

At the conclusion of this tournament, Mtutu had the honor bestowed upon his of being selected in the Australian Football World Team 2002, made up of representatives of each competing country.

These days, Mtutu has recently started his own Australian Football Club in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg. He trains every fortnight with Senior, under 16 and under 12 players.

Mtutu’s story makes one wonder what other untapped talent lies out there in South Africa – a question Footy South Africa wants to answer.

Results – International Cup 2002

The Buffaloes have competed in five Internationals, all of which were at the 2002 International Cup. Results of these matches are as follows:

ROUND 1 August 14 2002. Trevor Barker Oval, Sandringham.

New Zealand 4.4 14.6 18.9 25.13 (163)

South Africa 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 (1)

Goals:

NZ: Serci 7, Hart 4, Froggatt 2, Evens 2, Hema 2, Bowden 2, Bradley 2, Douthat, Roff, Gawn, Ball

SA: –

Best:

NZ: Serci, Hema, Hart, Malcom, Bradley, Roff, Seversinsen

SA: Mokgobadi, Modisane, Moeng, Moroeng, Hlomela, Seabelo

ROUND 2 August 15 2002. TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne.

Canada 1.6 1.6 1.8 4.11 (38)

South Africa 0.1 0.1 1.1 1.5 (11)

Goals:

Can: McFarlane 2, Bannon, Wells

SA: Hlomela

Best:

Can: Travers, Holmes, Layhare, McFarlane

SA: Moeng, Seabelo, Hlomela, Modisane

ROUND 3 August 17 2002. Whitten Oval, Footscray West.

Samoa 4.2 8.3 11.6 12.15 (87)

South Africa 0.2 1.3 1.4 1.4 (10)

Goals:

Samoa: Tualafo 5, Amosa 2, Duke 2, Tavana, Tootoo, Soi

SA: Mothupi

Best:

Samoa: Tualafo, Fuamatu, Amosa, Faalelei

SA: Lenyidi, Moroeng, Ntlatseng, Motuba

ROUND 4 August 19 2002. Elsternwick Park, Elsternwick.

Ireland 2.4 5.7 13.7 15.8 (98)

South Africa 0.0 1.0 1.2 3.3 (21)

Goals:

Ire: Kiely 4, Boylan 3, O’Connor 2, Kelly, O’Sullivan, Cotter, Griffin, Stynes

SA: Hlomela 2, Mothupi

Best:

Ire: Flood, O’Connor, Stynes, Boyle, O’Sullivan, Kiely, Boylan

SA: Hlomela, Motuba, Phogojane, Tlhasedi, Malinga, Seabelo, Morobe

ROUND 5 August 21 2002. TEAC Oval, Port Melbourne.

USA 3.1 7.1 14.5 20.12 (132)

South Africa 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.4 (4)

Goals:

USA: Purcell 8, Curry 3, Dainauski 2, Van Putten 2, McDaniel, Ternes, Jones, C. Ellis, Messenger

SA: –

Best:

USA: T. Ellis, Jagger, McDaniel, Purcell, Hunter

SA: Phogojane, Moletsane, Lucky, Motuba, Tlhasedi, Mogorosi, Hlomela
The ‘Buffaloes’ are looking forward to competing in the 2005 International Cup, and are determined to notch up their first win in international competition and raise their official AFL world ranking, which currently stands at 11.

One of many highlights for the Buffaloes during this competition was star player Mtutuzeli Hlomela’s inclusion in the World Team, made up of the best players from each competing country.