On July 15, a squad of 30 boys and 4 staff will set off for a three week tour of South Africa. The tour party will play six matches and include stays in Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Other highlights of the tour will include visits to the Kruger National Park, the Natal Battlefields. the Drakensburg Mountains, Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope.

The tour comes at the end of an outstanding period of success for the XV. After an unbeaten season in 2000 following the Millennium tour, the XV have only suffered three defeats in two seasons. The strong fixture list which includes Oundle, Uppingham, Haileybury and Harrow has recently been strengthened with the addition of RGS High Wycombe and the Northampton Academy. A total of six boys have gained international honours during the period.