SOCCER,
KAROO STYLE
Clive Lawrance
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Clive
• Born in South Africa in 1935.
• At the age of 21, Clive Lawrance
sailed from South Africa to London
to play professional football.
Lawrance
• He met a writer on board, who, he
said, re-aligned his compass
towards poetry and journalism.
• After a successful career in
journalism, based in London, New
York, Boston, Cape Town, and his
home town of Pietermaritzburg,
he retired in The Great Karoo and
Grahamstown, before settling in
his mini-forest in
Pietermaritzburg.
• His poems are the result of his
seeing and writing, with a
humorous twist.
About the
poem
■This poem is written in free
verse – there is no definitive
rhythm or rhyme scheme.
■It is conversational and
narrative – it tells a story.
■It contains many South African
colloquialisms.
■Lawrance’s hallmark humour
and conversational style
Them
e
■Little can disturb the slow
pace of life in this rural area
– people and animals live
together in a close
community.
The game of soccer is
Title
being played in a unique
way, with a twist.
: The Karoo is a semi
desert natural region of
South Africa.
Soccer, Karoo style
The children had
to chase different
animals off the
Stanza
field before they We had1
to shoo a fat sow, three piglets
could play soccer.
and a family of chickens off the pitch,
then carry a
to somnambulant
walk while great dane
sleeping
from the penalty spot before theof game
a breed large, powerful, short-
haired dogs
could begin. Shortly after half-time
our goalkeeper hoofed the ball skyward
slang – meaning to kick
and it bursthard
into flower and wobbled
to earth.
“The ball… burst into a flower.” ball
compared to a flower – a flower has kicked ball too
petals that open, and the split ball has hard= burst= they
flaps of fabric that spread out from its can’t carry on
centre. The split ball looks like a playing.
They tried to put
the rubber tube Stanza 2
back inside the
ball, but it popped.
Both captains tried to shove the bulging
rubber back into its pod, but, with a sad
pssst, it died. I thought that was the end personification
onomatopo of the game, but someone quickly collected
eia
old socks and underpants and stuffed them
inside the leather casing, and the game
burst soccer ball
went on, to end in a goalless draw. is stuffed with
socks and
underwear so
that play can
No one won, it continue.
was a draw.
Stanza
3
The teams trooped off the pitch
and the great dane, with a deep
sigh,
slouched towards the penalty spot.
After the game, the
animals return to
the field.
Questions
1. Why does the poet use the word ‘shoo’ in line 1? (2)
2. Identify and explain the effectiveness of the metaphor in
stanza 1. (3)
3. Identify an example of onomatopoeia from stanza 2 and
explain how this word reflects the unfolding events on the
soccer field. (3)
4. Examine the characteristics of the great dane in lines 3 and 18.
Discuss how these images create humour. (3)
5. Explain the contrast between the (burst) soccer ball and a
flower. (2)
6. What does the word ‘goalless’ imply about the game? (2)
7. Write a short description of what you know about life in this
village based on what you learnt from the poem. (4)
1. It is onomatopoeia and indicates the players chasing the animals
off the field.
2. The ball is being compared to a flower. Just like a flower has
petals that open so too does the split ball have flaps of fabric
that spread out from its centre.
3. Psst. This word echoes the sound made by the air escaping the
soccer ball as it goes flat. There is a risk, when the ball goes flat,
that the game will also ‘go flat’ and has to be stopped.
4. Firstly, the somnambulant dog is described as being carried off
the field, because he was blocking the penalty spot. This
emphasises the informality of the play, and the way in which the
opposing teams work together, thereby contradicting the
typically competitive nature of sport.
Secondly, after the game has been played, the dog returns in a
slouching manner and with a deep sigh to his original position. This
personification makes the dog appear superior in his boredom.
He reluctantly accommodates the soccer players but remains
5. The burst ball has flaps that look like the petals of
a flower when it opens up.
6. It implies that it is a very informal game and that
the soccer players are not aggressive to win. It is
just to get together and socialise and have fun.
■ 7.The people in this village are poor: they share
their soccer pitch with animals.
■ Their ball is old: it splits half way through the
game.
■ The players are determined: they move the
animals off the pitch.
■ They are resourceful, innovative and creative:
they stuff old clothes into the ball so the game
can continue.
■ There are no shops nearby where they can quickly
go and buy a new ball.
