A story has been doing the rounds in both the press and social media that a whole load of seagulls interfered with the Springboks’ training prior to their game against Japan, causing them to lose. It turns out this was an stretch of the truth and was, in fact, untrue.
The Inquisitr reported Tuesday, admittedly a tad tongue-in-cheek, on the story of seagulls dive-bombing and leaving droppings all over the pitch at Eastbourne College in Sussex. The college was hosting the Springboks while they trained for their upcoming Rugby World Cup match on Saturday last.
The media had widely reported that the seagull incident interfered with the players’ training and inferred this was the cause of their loss to the Japanese team.
While there were some seagulls hanging around the pitch at one stage, reportedly this was quickly resolved with the help of George the Harris Hawk (the trusty bird mentioned in the previous article and pictured below). George duly scared the birds away with a beady eye before practice even began.
George the Harris Hawk keeps pitches #seagullfree for #Springboks @rugbyworldcup http://t.co/BTHlXcBJyZ #Eastbourne pic.twitter.com/snaz1Ve2Ob
— Cleankill (@cleankilluk) September 14, 2015
The pitch itself was pristine when the players arrived on the scene, as can be seen from the photo below, as well as other images in this article.
In a press release, Eastbourne College Headmaster Simon Davies said that the college really enjoyed hosting the Springboks as they trained for Saturday’s match. He described the players as “warm and generous guests” and said they were sad to see them lose in their opening game against the Japanese team.
“The seagull story is amusing, but completely untrue. Our Head Groundsman and his team did a fantastic job to make sure the grass on both training pitches was perfect.
“At one point, before the Springboks arrived in Eastbourne, there was an influx of seagulls and a pest control company was called. George the Hawk was the solution proposed and he proved to be a first class and ethically sound deterrent! The seagulls took one look and stayed away, so the ground was in perfect condition throughout the Springboks’ training week.”
Springbok Team Manager Ian Schwartz also commented on the stories that have been doing the rounds.
He said, “The stories which appeared in the media regarding our ‘disappointment’ with the training facilities at Eastbourne College are so far from the truth, they are completely and utterly ridiculous.”
“In fact, the training facilities we had at Eastbourne College ranked amongst the best we’ve ever had. In the days we trained there, we didn’t even see a single seagull. No-one contacted us for comment on this and we don’t know where the claims come from.”
The Springbok team are currently training and gearing up for their second match against Samoa on September 26.
The full #Springboks team release for the match against Samoa here.. http://t.co/yULC9FM1qP #homegroundadvantage pic.twitter.com/GBlrypVYiq
— South African Rugby (@Springboks) September 23, 2015
With the many viral and humorous memes that resulted from the Springbok loss to Japan hitting Facebook and Twitter, it seems someone picked up the initial story of the seagulls at the college and exaggerated it for attention in both the press and social media.
[Photo: Featured image and training pitch courtesy Eastbourne College – Springboks training session at Eastbourne college by Gallo Images / Getty Images Sport]
