getwokingham - Reading Evening Post

It was a lovely sunny day in the watersports capital of Africa and with a more relaxed feel compared to any other stadium I have been to in South Africa so far we like many other England fans were able to enjoy beers on the grassy banks just outside the stadium in the afternoon sun.

The atmosphere was electric inside the stadium and the Slovenia fans were sparsely spread amongst the English who came out in their numbers.

For the first time in the tournament we played with passion, pace and urgency to our game, something that Gerrard has attempted to inspire ever since he was given the armband from injured Ferdinand. And for me it should have gone Gerrard’s way in the first place.

Our journey up to Port Elizabeth was utterly unbelievable and now I can see why the Garden Route is said to be the best drive in the world. The 200km stretch that begins at Mossel Bay and ends at Storms River Village is a very special place. There are endless mountain ranges, white beaches, bays, lakes, lagoons, forests, national parks and gorges. There is also a diverse range of both land and marine wildlife everywhere you look, from baboons and ostriches’ to whales, dolphins and great white sharks. We were only able to touch on this beautiful part of South Africa due to time restrictions, but it’s somewhere I would love to visit again with my fiancee and explore the whole area properly.

So now we face the old rivals in just a few days at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, which is quite a way away from my base camp in Cape Town. We are currently looking at catching a train/plane or driving half way across the country for 12 hours and covering around 3000km there and back. This is something we need to decide very soon, but come hell or high water I will be there. A world cup knockout match against the Germans is truly unmissable!

Meanwhile I am currently on route back to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth after yesterday’s game, back along the beautiful Garden Route. We should arrive back in Cape Town just in time to take our seats for Netherlands vs Cameroon at Green Point. It’s a dead game in terms or qualification but a great chance to see some world class players and my back up team, Holland.

I will blog next on the crazy journey across South Africa to Bloemfontein and how much the big game will mean to me and the rest of the England following here in the Southern hemisphere.

COME ON ENGLAND!