The Cape Town Stadium Rugby Festival’s inaugural rugby match, between the Vodacom Stormers and a Boland invitational team, was held on Saturday.

Here are more photographs of the event, taken by Cape Town Tourism’s Aslam Levy.

The crowd performs a Mexican wave

Players warm up before the start of the main game

Local band Hot Water entertains spectators entering the stadium

The Cape Town Tourism team greeted spectators as they arrived at the stadium

Read more coverage of the Rugby Festival on http://www.capetown.travel:

A historic day for rugby in Cape Town

SA Legends win at Cape Town Stadium

This photograph of a penguin on Boulders Beach was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member Lauren Barkume.

Lauren says: “As I was looking down over the wall at the penguins of Boulders Beach, I noticed two penguins facing each other. They bent over and glared menacingly at eacg other for a few minutes.

“This penguin appears to have been the victor in the fight, and finally turned away with a triumphant flap.”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © Lauren Barkume 2010

The inaugural rugby match at the Cape Town Stadium was held on Saturday, as a test event for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The Vodacom Stormers beat a Boland invitational team 47-13, while the South African Legends 10s team beat the International Legends 27-5 in the curtain-raiser.

These photos from the event were taken by Aslam Levy.

Spectators arrive at the magnificent stadium

A total of 40 000 people arrived at the stadium for the historic event. A free shuttle service to the stadium from the Civic Centre gave spectators the option of not having to drive to the stadium.

Flat Stanley performing

South African Music Association award-winning band Flat Stanley entertained the crowd before kick-off.

A view of the stands from the field

The crowd really came to life during the match, and a Mexican wave circulated the stadium within the first few minutes of the match, before local fans began chanting “Here we go Stormers, here we go!”

Stormers star Bryan Habana smiles after the match

New world-class signing Bryan Habana came on as a substitute during the latter stages of the match. He will have a far bigger role to play when the Stormers face the Lions in Johannesburg in their opening Super 14 game on Saturday, February 13.

The festival served as the second test event for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, following the inaugural soccer match at the stadium on January 23.

Read more coverage of the Rugby Festival on http://www.capetown.travel:

An historic day for rugby in Cape Town

SA Legends win at Cape Town Stadium

This photograph of a relaxed day of fishing in Gordon’s Bay was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member Hantie Brink aka Out_In_Africa.

Hantie says: “We are so blessed living in one of the most beautiful cities of the world and having so many beautiful places to visit on our door step.

“This photo was taken on yet another brilliant Cape Town summers day at Gordons Bay Harbour.”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © Hantie Brink aka Out_In_Africa 2010

A ball sails through the posts as The Vodacom Stormers build a lead. Photograph: Aslam Levy

The first recorded rugby game in South Africa took place on Green Point Common in 1862, and on Saturday, 40 000 supporters witnessed the inaugural rugby match at the newly built Cape Town Stadium on Green Point Common. 

The Vodacom Stormers beat a Boland invitational team 47-13.

Spectators took a short shuttle ride from the parking areas near Hertzog Boulevard on the Foreshore. Friendly officials handed out programmes and leaflets, while shepherding the crowd in the right direction. 

Giant Malian puppets in bold African dress handing out Cape Town flags met visitors on the stairs upon entrance. The Cape Town Tourism team was there in force, wearing their Live it! Love it! LOUDER! T-shirts. 

The music of local band Hot Water created a festive atmosphere. Wamkelekile, a crowd favourite, flowed into reggae. Hot Water then switched to playing Maskanda, a type of Zulu folk music that had the crowd stomping their feet and the final track was possibly the funkiest ‘sakkie-sakkie’ music you have ever heard.

Inside the stadium the curtain-raiser between South African Legends 10s and International Legends was won by the hosts, who scored in the first minute. The final score was 27-5.

Tim Horan and Tana Umaga were among the stars to turn out for the international team, while Robbie Fleck and Bobby Skinstad made appearances for the South African team.

Horan said after the match: “We’ve had a fantastic time in Cape Town during the 2010 Cape Town’s Tens. Yesterday we enjoyed a wine tasting in the Stellenbosch area.”

Alderman Dan Plato and Helen Zille. Photograph: Aslam Levy

Umaga added: “The sun is shining, the beach is just around the corner, and the people are friendly. It’s always great to come here.”

SAMA-Award winning band, Flat Stanley, reminded everybody why home-brewed is just so much better, finishing with their popular track As I am. 

Alderman Dan Plato, mayor of Cape Town, and the premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, walked in to the sound of an orchestra and inspired the crowd with their words. Plato’s message was: “We are ready to welcome the world to the beautiful Mother City!”

Zille took the opportunity to thank the 2010 management teams and emphasised the saying “Ke Nako – the time is now.”

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric. A Mexican wave went around the stadium five times, and when the Stormers scored a try within minutes, the crowd erupted. Chants of “Here we go Stormers, here we go,” drowned out any other sound from the stadium. The fans sported a mix of Stormers, Boland, Western Province, Springbok and even soccer jerseys, and they seemed to thoroughly enjoyed the event.

“It was beautiful; we really enjoyed the day,” said Stormers fan, Nemina Hlongwane.

Mishkah Khatib from Cape Town Tourism added: “There is such a vibrant, uniting spirit here today.”

Capetonian Fatima Croeser said: “We have applied for tickets for the England and Algeria game and hope to be back to watch some soccer at the stadium.”

“Dit was wonderlik hier gewees vandag; die atmosfeer het my die meeste beindruk (“It was wonderful here today; the atmosphere impressed me the most”), concluded Cecil Dramat.

Stormers Captain Schalk Burger left the field with a shoulder injury in the first quarter of the match. Photo courtesy jomike

The Vodacom Stormers beat a Boland invitational team 47-13 in the first ever full rugby match at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

The match served as the second test event for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, following the inaugural soccer match at the stadium on January 23.

A crowd of 40 000 were treated to a convincing win by the local team, and will be hoping for similar results during the upcoming Super 14. In the curtain-raiser, the South African Legends 10s team beat the International Legends 27-5.

There was added entertainment from well-known South African band Flat Stanley, as well as an orchestra wearing Cape Town Tourism t-shirts.

Cape Town Mayor Alderman Dan Plato and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille were among the dignitaries at the event, as they were at the first event, too.

Stormers’ Coach Alistair Coetzee decided to rest several first-choice players such as Peter Grant and Joe Pietersen, while crowd favourite Bryan Habana was used as a substitute later in the match.

Of concern was that captain and stalwart flank Schalk Burger left the field with a shoulder injury during the first half.

Writing for popular website www.keo.co.za, blogger Grant Ball wrote: “Perhaps the Stormers board will consider a move to Green Point, if not permanently, then maybe for the big games where attracting a 60 000-plus crowd is likely.”

The Stormers begin their Super 14 campaign against The Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday, February 13. The following weekend, the Stormers will host the Waratahs at Newlands.

The South African Legends 10s team beat the International Legends 27-5 during the curtain-raiser for Cape Town Stadium‘s first ever full rugby match between The Vodacom Stormers and a Boland invitational team.

The International Legends’ team boasted former world-class centres Tim Horan (Australia) and Tana Umaga (New Zealand).

Former Stormers and Springbok stars Robbie Fleck and Bobby Skinstad turned out for the South African Legends.

This test event for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™ was attended by 40 000 people.

This photograph of Cape Town’s city lights was taken by our Cape Town. Live it. Love it. group member dan.rich77.

Dan says: “This shot was taken from Signal Hill in Cape Town, just after sunset, overlooking the Waterfront and across to Devil’s Peak.

“I do like this shot, as it has another photographer taking another shot, adding a human element for ground interest.

“It was quite a windy night, so keeping the tripod still with a 30-second exposure was tricky, but I think I managed it.”

Do you have images of Cape Town you’d like to share with us? We’d love you to join the Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group!

Image © dan.rich77 2010

Kirstenbosch Gardens, photo courtesy Ian Junor aka ifijay

The Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group takes stunning pictures of Cape Town’s beautiful beaches, the city itself, the new stadiums and the people who fill them.

The group now boasts 500 members, who have posted more than 9 000 high-quality images taken in and around Cape Town.

The top five contributors to the group presently are mallix, rfataar, Koeshke, j.knutzen and paulperton. The most common tags (search terms associated with the content) in the group are capetown, followed by southafrica, africa, cape, and westerncape.

Each day, one photo from the group is selected as our Flickr Pic of the Day.

This area showcases our blog’s photography category every Monday. It includes the Postcard from Paul, a weekly feature from Cape Town. Live it. Love it. member Paul Bruins, aka Panorama Paul, showcasing the beautiful Mother City through exquisite photography.

On Fridays, we publish photo essays featuring the works of photographers who’ve joined the Flickr group.

We’d love you to join our Flickr community. Please join the group and add your Cape Town images, or, apply to be a group administrator by contacting other Cape Town. Live it. Love it. Flickr group administrators directly through Flickr.