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Rugby ace Sam Wilson has returned from his once-in-a-lifetime trip to Madagascar full of joy after captaining a team of Gulf volunteers in a valiant effort against the African island country’s national side as well as hosting coaching clinics for rugby-mad kids.
The 34-year-old expat New Zealander was part of a squad of ‘Conquistadors’ consisting of rugby players from teams around the GCC, who toured in honour of Mike Ballard, an American national and former UAE Rugby Player of the Year nominee, who suffered a serious spinal injury when playing in 2014.
Plans for the trip were thrown into chaos just days before the expedition, as during the country’s June 26 national day parade and gathering at the Mahamasina Stadium a grenade was thrown, killing two and injuring many more.
Sam said: “We found out about the attack just as we were all preparing to leave for Madagascar. Since the government closed off the stadium and banned any public gatherings for the foreseeable future, we were a bit gutted that we wouldn’t play in front of the 30,000 crowd who were expected to come along to our game.
“Regardless, our attitude was more resolved and committed than ever and it actually brought us closer together. It threw the logistics a little, but we never felt threatened at all while we were there and we received full assurances from the sporting authority Madagascar Rugby, who were brilliant throughout.”
On the way to Madagascar, the team stopped at Seychelles International Airport and met the Seychelles Minister of Health in the VIP lounge during transit time, where they donated a number of wheelchairs to charitable causes in the country.
Once the Conquistadors reached the African nation’s capital Antananarivo, they set about finding another stadium to host their training clinics.
Sam explained: “We arrived with 50 suitcases worth of kit and another 70 wheelchairs for charity which we’d worked really hard for months to collect. There was no way we were going to let the earlier trouble affect us, so we found a ground close by to host our planned sporting activities for the local kids.
“We did warm-ups and drills with the youngsters, made up from 10 of the junior rugby clubs around Madagascar, before going straight into a tournament. Some of the skills on the kids were fantastic - they were at ease on the ball, with great passing, catching, running and physicality.
“We offered some coaching pointers during the tournament and refereed the games to teach them how to avoid foul play. They were very respectful even though the language barrier was difficult. Luckily, actions speak louder than words in rugby … and the couple of French speakers we had amongst us helped too!”
Although the pitch was in poor condition with numerous divots and potholes littering the surface, it didn’t detract from the high quality on offer.
Even better, word spread quickly around the capital that something major was happening and soon thousands flocked to the makeshift stadium and climbed over the fence for a better view of the action.
The pitch was unacceptable for harder and faster senior rugby, but luckily the hosts found a fitting and secure location right in the centre of Antananarivo for the big match between the visiting party and the national side.
A crowd of around 500 managed to attend, as well as many of the youngsters who had met the Conquistadors during the coaching clinics.
The first half was particularly gruelling for Sam’s team, who he captained while playing out on the wing. He said: “Being asked to captain the guys was a great honour for me. There were 77 caps in the team, including captains/coaches from around the Gulf, so it was a huge compliment for it to fall to me.
“Age was on their side definitely, the home favourites ran out to a 33-0 lead at half time. We weren’t playing bad rugby, but every time they turned it over they were fast and hard to defend against.
“Nevertheless, we had a good chat at half time, and our plan was to make sure we held the ball. We got it back to 33-26 with 15 minutes left after scoring four tries!”
Unfortunately, the Madagascan team streaked away at the end by notching three tries in the last 10 minutes to seal the game 52-26. In Sam’s words, the Conquistadors were exhausted as the stadium’s high altitude (1,280m above sea level) was foreign to almost all of the squad and it sapped energy levels.
After the game, Sam gave the captain of the Madagascan team a Bahrain Rugby Football Club jersey, the president of Madagascar Rugby plaques from the various Gulf rugby clubs, and distributed hundreds of boots and other items of kit. Sam also offered the female referee one of his beloved All Blacks jerseys after the game.
“It was an amazing experience, and something I’ll never forget,” Sam added. “After what happened with the disruption, we were more determined than ever to make it a success and I think we did that. Hopefully, it becomes a more regular thing with the establishment of the Mike Ballard Foundation and the tremendous support we had from Air Seychelles.”
Sam will soon be departing Bahrain and returning home to New Zealand to carve out a new career in the police force.
