Do or Die for England in the World Cup 2010

Anything less than a win for the Three Lions will almost certainly see them crash out of the tournament at the group stages for the first time since 1958.

Two dismal draws against the United States in Rustenburg and Algeria in Cape Town have left the team – who were one of the pre-tournament favorites – facing the very real prospect of elimination.

Reported tension in the training camp and disagreements between manager Fabio Capello and former captain John Terry has left the Slovenian team confident they can beat England, who are15 places higher than them in the FIFA world rankings.

But despite their slow start to the tournament the loyal army of England supporters were in positive mood ahead of the match.

On the palm fringed promenade supporters meeting up for a morning stroll talked up the team’s chances.

Paul Milner, 47, a power station engineer from Doncaster said: “What we want to see is some passion, that is what has been lacking, but I am sure they are ready now.

“I honestly believe we are going to win and win well. I reckon 2 – 0 at least. I drove down from Durban last night, it took 12 hours and I am really tired but also really excited. The 2010 World Cup starts now for England.”

Boela Gerber, Groot Constantia Cellar master, takes it further

Like the previous few vintages, the 2010 harvest was preceded by a very inclement spring with plenty of rain and some terrible wind. This made for uneven budding, flowering and fruit-set: not a good sign for the harvest to come. A diligent spraying programme, however, ensured a surprisingly disease-free vineyard with a healthy looking crop going into harvest 2010. But just when you think you are in the clear, Mother Nature throws another curve-ball at you. Odd patches of rain in the early season followed by a few stifling heat spells caused a lot of uneven ripening among the grapes, which made making that call to pick a bit of a lottery!

However, brilliant cooperation from the vineyard team meant that most of the vineyards were picked two and even three times, as there were ripe and green bunches on the same vine. At the end of the harvest, I am happy to report that all the head-aches and extra efforts were very worth our while, as crop levels were spot on and I am very happy with the over all quality of the 2010 harvest.

With the wines in tank and barrel, a few assumptions can be made. White wines show a combination of leaner flavours from early pickings, filled out with rich, ripe fruit from the latter half of the season.

The uneven ripening always takes its toll on red grapes, but by adjusting our picking schedule to bring in fruit on a selective basis we averted a potential drop in quality. In fact, some red wines seem to have ignored the inclement weather and challenging conditions and have gone on to excel! Cabernet Franc is a rising star, and Shiraz is really of an exceptional quality this year.