Market Friday: Another Nail-Biting Game at Kings Park - SHARKS vs MUNSTER

Today is #MarketFriday, a project initiated by @dswigle, and this post is my contribution to this project for this week.

To learn more about this project and participate, visit today's post by @dswigle.

I missed publishing a post last week Friday. It was a hectic day and I couldn't get to everything...lol. But here I am now.

But the rest of last weekend was quite exciting.

If you remember, I published a post about our night at the rugby two weeks ago...

Well, guess what? Last weekend we went to see another live match.

It was also at Kings Park, but this time, the A team of the SHARKS was in action. The last game we went to, was a game between the SHARKS (B team) and another South African franchise, the PUMAS.

This time, it was an international game in the URC series, where the SHARKS were facing MUNSTER, a team from Ireland.

We stuck to the habit of parking the car at the Suncoast Casino, walking to Kings Park Stadium. It's a distance of about 2 KM (a 20 to 25-minute walk one way).

The reason for parking at the Suncoast Casino?

  • It is safe due to good security.
  • It is free.
  • We get the opportunity to go for a nice walk before and after the game.

If you want to see more about our walk between Suncoast Casino and Kings Park, you can see it here.

SHARKS vs MUNSTER.

Okay, let me share this with you first. We didn't really plan on going to this match.

On Friday, I received a phone call from my wife. A supplier to the company my wife is working for was willing to sponsor us with two tickets to Saturday's game. He wanted to know if we would be interested...

Would we be interested...? Silly question! That's a no-brainer...LOL!

We decided to leave early on Saturday afternoon, as I wanted to have a relaxed walk while taking some nice shots of our walk.

The game was scheduled for 6:15 pm. We arrived at the parking area at the Suncoast Casino just after 4 pm. We started our walk to the stadium and arrived early after a nice walk, taking many photos along the way.

Now, let me show you where we were already scoring financially...
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Yes, R80.00 for parking at the stadium. At the time of writing this post, the exchange rate is R18.29 for $1.00.

That means the cost of parking would have been equal to $4.38.

I just smiled and we kept walking toward the ticket offices.

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To get to the counters, you walk through an entrance hall, with windows on both sides. From here you can look down into Shark Tank Shop.

And of course, we're at the SHARK TANK (home of the SHARKS)... How could there not be an image of Sharky in one of these windows...lol?

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And next to Sharky's image, a nice outfit is on display!

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We walked out to stroll around before going inside the stadium. We stopped and I asked my wife to hold the tickets for me to take a photo...

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As you can see... R90.00 per ticket. That means for the two tickets it would be R180.00 ($9.84). If we had parked at the stadium, it would have been another R80.00 which would have taken the total cost up to R260.00 ($14.21)... Yet, it didn't cost us a dime!

Outside gate 9 (where we normally enter), people were still gathering casually for conversation as it was still early.

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Once inside, we walked the final stretch to ramp 5 where we were supposed to go up toward our seats on the east stand.

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Gong up the ramp, starting to gain height, and looking out over this "entertainment" area that is always camped off with some stalls where you can get something to eat and drink. To the right is one of the parking areas of the stadium, slowly busy filling up.

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A little higher up and we get a better view from where we can see the rest of the entertainment area with another entrance gate below us (to the left) and more parking areas in the background busy filling up.

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We were at our seats at about 5:15 pm.

I took the following three shots of the stadium as we could see it in front of us. We were seated almost at the halfway line, with the main stand on the opposite side of the field.

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To our left, is (what we know as) a box that always gets my attention. As a matter of interest, the Afrikaans word is "losie". I looked it up in the dictionary to find the proper English word and found where it is described as a stage box.

This box in particular (on ground level) belongs to the Illovo Company. They have a whole entertainment area for the guests outside. They even have a pool if people want to spend time in the water.

That blows my mind... Who wants to be in a pool when you are there to watch a rugby game? Yet, I have often seen people sitting in the water, especially during games in the afternoon...

At the bottom left, you can see the television cameraman being ready for action, waiting for the game to start.

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Focusing more on the undercover area...

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Zooming out to get the full picture.

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A while later I took the next shot of the sunset behind the main stand.

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On the opposite side of the field, in front of the main stand, they were doing a television interview with Neil Powell, the director of rugby of the SHARKS. Neil Powell is the guy in the black shorts and T-shirt...

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Players started coming onto the field to warm up before the game. Here, Curwin Bosch is working on his kicking skills.

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In the next shot, Boeta Chamberlain and Curwin Bosch are aiming for the posts.

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Makazole Mapimpi working on his side-step...

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Neil Powell, the director of rugby physically ran around with his team...throwing the ball around for his team to properly warm up.

Neil Powell has been the coach for the South African Sevens Springbok team and they had great results under him. He came to the SHARKS at the beginning of this season.

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And then Sharky came out...lol!

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Then our captain, Sia Kolisi came out. He is also captain of the Springboks. He enjoyed a special entrance with his two children as it was his last game for the SHARKS before he is going overseas to play for an overseas team.

Yet, he had a serious injury to his knee during the game and now it seems that he might not even be ready to lead the Springboks in the upcoming world cup competition.

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Just behind him, Thomas du Toit, aka "The Tank" (weighing in at 134 KG), also came onto the field with a special entrance with his little one. It was also his last game at the SHARKS before leaving to join an overseas team for some time.

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Then Curwin Bosch started the game...

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The SHARKS dominated the first half and were leading by 19 - 3 by halftime.

After half-time, MUNSTER was to start the game and I couldn't believe how lucky I was to get three of my favorite players in one shot, right in front of me.

From left to right: Werner Kok, Thomas du Toit, and Gerbrandt Grobler, waiting for the MUNSTER kick-off.

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The SHARKS scored again with a penalty and we were leading by 22 - 3.

But then MUNSTER came back with a vengeance and it turned into a nail-biting game, ending in a draw at 22 - 22.

After the match...walking down the ramp, looking out over one of the parking areas behind the stadium.

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We walked back to the car, laughing and trying to wind down and relax again after the excitement of the game...lol.

And that's it for today folks! An exciting, fun-filled, $14.21 evening that didn't cost us a dime, except for the gas to get there.

Thank you for reading my post!

I do appreciate it!



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18 comments
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I never experienced watching live rugby game.. Thanks for touring us here.

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It's a great experience watching a live game! Thanks for stopping by, @jane1289! I'm glad you enjoyed the outing with us👍!

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It was just yesterday that I was pondering how rarely sports related posts are published on Market Friday - and here's your post today! Amazing!

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Wow! Can you believe that? But yes, now that you mention it... Sports-related posts are rare on Market Friday. Now I'm really glad that I have done this post!

Thank you for stopping by and for your feedback, @tatdt! I do appreciate it👍!

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Wow, it was a very pleasant trip, watching the match on the field directly was really very fun and stressful, of course.

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It was great fun indeed! Thank you for stopping by! I do appreciate it!

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I guess you are right about the sports events, but honestly, people still think of markets as food stores. You and @tatdt do a great job of getting out and making it a cultural event, museum, or adventures of a different sort.

Which is great, it always gives others new ideas!

Don't get me wrong, I love marketplaces! They are the staple of this challenge.

Apologies! Back to the game! I am chuffed that you got to go again so soon- and to see the A team to boot! Looks like they put on a great show in the first half and slept in the second half. :) I still don't understand the pool right on the sidelines - who in their right mind wants to go swimming while trying to watch the game? Obviously, there are people or it wouldn't still be there. Last games for everyone that night, yes?

You had nice seats (again) and you certainly made the most of your free night. I am glad it was a better walk this time, even though the last one was uneventful, this was a calmer, more pleasing walk to the stadium and back.

Great shooting of the stadium, the way there and you even got Sharkey! Thank you for all the fun!!!

#MarketFriday began as a way to reach out across the globe and learn about different cultures through their markets, especially local markets and farmers' markets, and eventually branched out and evolved over time from straight shopping to a cultural affair as it highlights how we differ and then again, how much we are alike. We have become a melting pot of culture, but it is still the Rituals, Festivals, food, architecture, and even your language/languages that separate us... Along with the fact that these things are normal for us. There are unwritten rules that rule our social behaviors. I see this as allowing for increased tolerance between cultures and nations, and opportunities to come together on an even playing ground. A strong culture can be beneficial to a country as it promotes unity, especially during a crisis, peaceful debate, and open dialogue. I have learned so much about all of you and it has been an amazing experience. I can only hope that learning about each other can help us work together for a peaceful world. Thank you for being a part of #MarketFriday

Rules of the Road to Join #MarketFriday!


  1. Go to any type of market, or anywhere where you pay money for a service. It can be a museum, a movie theatre, or an auction. Be creative!
  2. Tell us a little bit about the market or the event. What brought you there? What did you buy? How much did it cost? We like to compare prices, otherwise, it is just pictures of a market!
  3. Post the pictures! No out-of-focus ones, please! Tell a little bit about the pictures that you post. Having many pictures to scroll through does not make a better post without explanation.
  4. Use the MarketFriday Community Platform to post #hive-196308 (this is not required, but appreciated) If you don't, then #MarketFriday should be your first tag
  5. Following me and reblogging the post so more see it would be appreciated !! Not a rule, just appreciated, more vision for more views on your posts!
    6 You must put #MarketFriday by @dswigle somewhere on your post.
    7.#MarketFriday post should be submitted sometime on Friday UTC
  6. The post MUST be in English
  7. Drop the link into the MarketFriday comment section so I can find it


#MarketFriday loves you!

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Wow! It's almost the weekend again and here I'm only getting to your comment now... Apologies for that! It was just a hectic week😅.

Yes, I agree with you in saying that the marketplace definitely has its place, but you have also encouraged us so many times to think outside the box and think of any place where money is changing hands.

It is exactly as you say... During the first half, I was excited and thought we are in for a great victory. That turned into nail-biting in the second half though... Maybe they thought they'd got the game in the bag and relaxed just a little bit too soon🙈... At least the game ended in a draw and we didn't completely lose the game...😅!

Yes, it was the last game of the night.

Thank you o much for your ongoing support, @dswigle! I really do appreciate it!

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LOL I do love all of the ways we can make it a market, for sure! It is interesting to see how inventive some get. I love it!!!

Yes, arrogance rules, doesn't it? We become so complacent when we think we no longer have to put the effort in. Always do your best, for that very reason. It happens all the time, so it is nothing new, right?

And yet...

Thank YOU for always supporting the challenge!

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Yes...becoming complacent. That is a very good way of describing it! And you are so right in saying it's nothing new!

I enjoy being part of the challenge!

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Congratulations @jacoalberts! You received a personal badge!

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Congratulations @jacoalberts! You received a personal badge!

You powered-up at least 10 HIVE on Hive Power Up Day! This entitles you to a level 1 badge.
Participate in the next Power Up Day and try to power-up more HIVE to get a bigger Power-Bee.
May the Hive Power be with you!

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking

Check out our last posts:

Hive Power Up Month Challenge - April 2023 Winners List
Be ready for the May edition of the Hive Power Up Month!
Hive Power Up Day - May 1st 2023
The Hive Gamification Proposal
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