Market Friday - A Fun-Filled Evening at the Rugby.

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.

We are huge fans of the SHARKS and we love going to live rugby matches at the stadium. Their home, known as the "SHARK TANK", is located at the KINGS PARK stadium in Durban, South Africa.

We haven't been to a game in quite some time and last Friday when we heard them advertising tickets for R50.00 per ticket, we decided to go to the match on Friday evening.

At the time of writing this post, the exchange rate was R18.10 to $1.00.

That means it would cost us $5.52 for the two of us.

We bought two tickets and off we went to the stadium on Friday evening. Kick-off was scheduled for 7 pm.

We never park at the stadium. The traffic is normally chaotic on arrival and even worse when you want to leave.

Over time, we have learned that we can park the car in the parking area at the Suncoast Casino. It is safe and secure and the best part...it is free.

It also provides us with the opportunity for a nice walk as the Suncoast Casino is located at Suncoast Beach, next to Battery Beach on the Marine Parade. It's a walk of about 2 KM (a 20- to 25-minute walk) one way.

We arrived in the parking area at about 6:15 pm. and started our walk to the stadium.

We don't like walking through the casino area and normally take the shortcut which takes us through the area where all the restaurants are. It leads directly to the promenade, just above the beach.

Once on the promenade, we still had to pass a few of the restaurants in this area, with the restaurants on the left and the ocean on the right behind the greenery.

Although it was getting dark quickly, there was still a bit of color to be detected in the sky.

As we walked along, it was a nice and relaxed atmosphere.

As we left this area and got out into the open, it became very quiet, and to my surprise, my wife and were all alone, only with some security personnel being visible every now and then.

About halfway to the stadium, we had to take a turn to the left and pass through a subway on the final stretch to the stadium.

We then crossed a main road before getting to the Moses Mabhida Stadium. The Moses Mabhida Stadium is very impressive and was built for the 2010 Soccer World Cup that was hosted in South Africa.

The Moses Mabhida Stadium and Kings Park Stadium are next to one another.

Right between the two stadiums, just before we got to the entrance of the rugby stadium, we passed the Cuba Lounge.

I think the Cuba Lounge might be something like a nightclub or something...I have no idea in all honesty. But while there were people sitting at some tables in an open space outside, having something to eat and drink, there was this really loud music coming from inside. Way too loud for a normal restaurant.

As you can see in the photo above, by now it was completely dark.

I did take a photo of Kings Park Stadium from here as well, but I didn't get the focus right (maybe due to the darkness) and I only saw it when I checked the photos afterward.

So, I am not going to share my "out-of-focus" photo today, but that means I will go back sometime and take some proper photos of the stadium.

We entered Kings Park Stadium and walked up the ramp to level 3 where we were to be seated.

Just before going inside and onto the pavilion, I turned around and saw this view of the Moses Mabhida Stadium from where I stood.

If you look at the photo above, you'll see the gate where we entered in the foreground. Across the road from the gate is an entrance to undercover parking at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. It is also available for parking during rugby matches at the Kings Park Stadium. We have parked there once before and it's very nice and convenient, but as mentioned before, when you come out, the traffic is a nightmare...lol.

I was still amazed about how quiet it was this time around...and then it struck me. It's a long weekend and it's the April holiday season. Most people are away on holiday...duh!

Tonight's game was also our "B" team playing in our local Curry-Cup series. It was the SHARKS (us) versus the PUMAS from Nelspruit, Mpumalanga Province.

Our "A" team would be playing a French team in the international URC series in France on Saturday.

We were seated close to the halfway line and we had a nice view of the field.

Behind the posts to our right, you can see the entertainment area for the kids while the parents are watching the game. Although there was no activity there tonight.

Then the press photographer also got ready to take some shots as the players were about to come onto the field.

The visitors came onto the field first...and then Sharky made his appearance before the Sharks came running out...lol!

He made some fancy "dance" moves while our team came running onto the field...

He then neatly placed the ball in the center of the field, ready for the Sharks to start the game.

After getting some nice cheers from the crowds in the stands, he then left the field.

And then the game started...

The opposition took the first line-out...

...but shortly after that we got awarded a penalty and we successfully scored our first three points.

Moments later, our guys went head first, getting over the try line and scoring a try.

During the second half, Sharky paid us a visit and provided some entertainment to the people in the stands too...lol!

He even posed for photos with some of the spectators...

The game developed into a tough match, but the Sharks managed to pull it through and won the game by 7 points, with a final score of 19-12!

Yes, I love the Sharks!

So, after the match, we decided to visit the Shark Tank Shop.

It's no secret where we are...

Some interesting merchandise inside the shop...

A nice T-shirt we might get for each of our two granddaughters...

...and our grandson...

And there's always time for some nice humor...hahaha, going for R129.00 ($7.12)

Another nice shirt @ R309.00 ($17.07).

Besides the clothing, there were many other nice items on display. Such as this cooler bag...

...and this backpack.

Then it was time to get back to the car. Remember, we still had a 20 to 25-minute walk to get back to the car.

We left Kings Park, went past Moses Mabhida, and approached the subway again. Normally, there would be a whole group of people walking this route, as many people leave their cars at the Suncoast Casino parking area.

But tonight, we were all alone.

After making sure that it was safe, we passed through toward the promenade where we would take a right turn toward the parking area.

Just after passing through the subway, looking to the right, our end destination becomes visible...the lights of the restaurants in the area where we would pass through to get to the car.

But first, we would have to follow this walkway turning to the right, and then go onto the promenade for the final stretch of our walk.

About halfway down the promenade, I saw a vehicle approaching from the front. As it came closer, I saw it was a police vehicle slowly cruising by, patrolling the area. They greeted us politely and went their way while we continued our walk.

Coming toward the end of our walk. We were about to enter the area where all the restaurants are. As we would exit on the other side, we would be walking straight into the secure parking area where our car was parked.

We arrived at the car and returned home safely after a fun-filled evening at the rugby.

Thank you for reading my post!

I do appreciate it!