Rugby for 2009
FIRST TEAM
Rugby at Victoria Park has gone from strength to strength and we enjoyed a highly successful season. The enthusiasm for the game was reflected in the increased participation by our learners. We were able to field six sides in the league this year ensuring that our Derby Days were action packed and this in turn resulted in stands filled with enthusiastic supporters. The positive spirit and interest surrounding the achievements of the u14 and 1st teams meant that they embarked on successful tours to Knysna and Stellenbosch. The high profile rugby enjoyed this year was in no small part due to the talent and commitment of the senior players and we were justly rewarded with the inclusion of two of our boys in Craven Week teams: Luxolo Daku was selected to represent the Eastern Province u18 Craven Week side while Ayanda Foley made his mark with the South African Academy side. Lubabalo Faleni, Sinakho Mafu and Samkhelo Hlabeni also represented the province at u19 level. We are very proud of these boys’ achievements and watch their future careers with keen interest.
The 1st side kicked the season off with a very convincing victory over P. J. Olivier from Grahamstown. VP dominated their opponents from the start to the finish of the game. Excellent support play and continuous crossing of the advantage line saw P. J. Olivier being on the losing end of a 52 – 0 score. This was a clear indication that the conditioning program and off season training regime had paid dividends, as this was a superb display of running rugby by our boys.
Our next hurdle was the Despatch festival. Perhaps a little over-confident, the boys lost narrowly to Craddock High. The next day saw a side galvanized by the loss and determined to avenge their defeat and restore their winning ways. Although they met stiff opposition from powerhouse Hoërskool Grens, the VP side kept to their structures and game plan which resulted in a brilliant 22 – 5 victory. Our boys received special commendation for the manner in which they behaved and wore their uniform. Members of the public commented on the discipline and smartness of their appearance.
Prior to the commencement of the official season the boys packed their bags once more and travelled to Stellenbosch to participate in the Vodacom Sports Week. This week-long tour proved to be a very memorable one. One will not easily forget Bongani “Headmaster” Nqcala, Luyolo Mzotoyi and Shea “Casanova” Tyler’s antics during our stay. Again the boys did not fail to impress both coaches and the public. First in their sights was Hoërskool Retief from the Freestate. The latter was outrun, outplayed and overwhelmed by our boys in a marvellous display of 15 man rugby. Lubabalo Faleni, Gregan Dyan and Sinakho Mafu covered themselves in distinction. Even with thevery little possession Hoërskool Retief secured, they were unable to make much use of it because of the fervent defence put up by VP. The end score was 38 – 0 to VP.
Grandleigh Academy from Natal also to succumbed to the might of a team buoyed by their outstanding achievements. In a valiant display of fighting spirit, the VP side won 38 – 8 after influential flyhalf Martin Calitz took a hard knock on the nose. Shea Tyler, Davin Hislop and Justin Janse van Rensburg proved to be the difference makers in this encounter where their formidable performance in the forwards paved the way to an astounding VP victory. After five games in less than two weeks the boys met the renowned Gauteng rugby side, Dinamika Hoër. Dinamika had a significant advantage in size and it took a lot of guts for the boys not to back down. Johan de Beer, Martin Weatherall-Thomas, Jonothan Alberts and Lunga Thomspon had very commendable games. VP was narrowly defeated 15 – 17. What was most pleasing is that in all three games which were played, VP won the player of the match award.
Showing the early season form that resulted in their inclusion in the EP team, the award was given to Luxolo Daku and twice to Ayanda Foley, who managed to score 11 tries in three games. Ayanda also won the highly prestigious “Player of the Tournament” award. This is a fantastic achievement as strong rugby schools like Paul Roos Gimnasium, Grey Bloem and Afrikaans Hoër all had teams playing in the tournament. All in all the tour was a resounding success; not only in regard to the results achieved, but for the successful foundation it laid in terms of team spirit, camaraderie and the fantastic memories shared by all.
The start of the Derby fixtures was very positive with a good win against a determined side from Port Alfred (40 – 3). Nico Malan once again proved to be a formidable opponent but good victories were achieved over Westering (30 – 21) and Cillië (22 – 7). Dini Noyo, Sinakho Mafu, Martin Weatherall-Thomas Lubabalo Nohoyeka, Bongani Nqcala and Siya Mente put in noteworthy performances during these two games.
The highlight of the season was without a doubt the win over Muir College. From the outset set of the game Victoria Park dominated all phases of play. Samkhelo Hlabeni had a superb game on offence and defence. Lubabalo Faleni displayed some of the hardest tackling from any school boy I have seen. As usual, Martin Calitz led the backline attack with great efficiency. Our pack of forwards also needs special mention here. Lubabalo Nohoyeka, Johann de Beer, Shea Tyler, Bongani Nqcala, Lee van der Linde, Luyolo Mzotoyi, Justin Janse van Rensburg, Lunga Thomspon, Davin Hislop and Sonwabile Ntlasana never backed down and subdued a physically imposing and stronger pack. Victoria Park beat Muir College 29 – 25.
Pearson proved to be the nemesis of the season. Even though VP lost this encounter; the side showed great courage and determination. The commitment of the boys to the team and the school was clearly evident as they placed their bodies on the line. Next up were Woodridge who proved to be the most disappointing victory of the season in a dismal (3 – 0) win.
The next hurdle was the Westering Co-Ed festival during the June holidays. Here the boys did VP proud and enjoyed good wins over Bergvliet from Cape Town (17 – 16) and ScottsBurgh from Natal (47 – 8). In the game against Bergvliet the team secured a win after trailing 0 – 16 at halftime. This epitomised the team’s spirit shown throughout the season as they never gave up and always gave their best. Indeed no task or challenge ever seemed too daunting for them and their camaraderie is something which will be missed next year. Although the team ended the season with a few losses, nothing can take away the progress they made in restoring the pride to Victoria Park Rugby. The spirit of the team was evident through their hard work, determination and their commitment to training, matches and each other is something we can all strive for.
The First Team for 2009 was:
Shea Tyler Johan de Beer (captain)
Lubabalo Nohoyeka Athi Mboniswa
Bongani Nqcala Lee van der Linde
Siya Mente Justin Janse van Rensburg
Luyolo Mzotoyi Sonwabile Ntlasana
Davin Hislop Matthew Mouton
Lunga Thompson Gregan Dyan
Samkhelo Hlabeni Martin Calitz (Vice-Captain)
Luxolo Daku Lubabalo Faleni
Ayanda Foley Sinakho Mafu
Dini Noyo Martin Weatherall-Thomas.
Nathi Ndaza Mr C Steyn (Coach)
SECOND TEAM RUGBY
The second rugby team experienced a very good season. They always played to the best of their ability which showed in their performances that were characterized by great guts and determination. The spirit in the team was always of a high standard which was evident by their conduct on as well as off the field. There were some noteworthy wins this season and these were recorded against: Port Alfred, Westering, Union High and D.F Malherbe. Although we went down to a few of our other rivals it was only by a small margin. I must extend my congratulations to a number of my players who enjoyed the opportunity to play for the first team during the season.
Mr Retief van der Merwe (Coach)
THIRD TEAM RUGBY
This year’s 3rd team, the “Mighty Dustmites”, was a potent mixture of youth and experience and proved to be crowd pleaser as the spectators arrived in droves to chant the names of their heroes. The younger players blossomed under the tutelage of the Matrics and undoubtedly many of the younger players will be the future stars of VP rugby. Indeed 2009 proved to be an eventful year and the biggest obstacle that stood between a good and excellence set of results were a number of unfortunate injuries that we suffered. Ultimately we had a few ups and downs but at the end of the day the players enjoyed themselves and rugby was the winner. Thank you to the Matrics, your contribution toward building the proud name of VP rugby will be sorely missed. If I can offer future players some advice, if all of you share the commitment of Ricky Farrel VP rugby would be unbeatable!
Good luck for 2010.
Mr William O’ Connell (Coach)
U14 RUGBY REPORT
If the success of a first term can be predicted by their form in the u14 division then the future of Victorian rugby is bright indeed. The u14 a rugby team had a wonderful season, playing open, attractive, fifteen man rugby and clearly enjoying every minute of it. The team was a pleasure to coach not only due to their achievements on the field, but for the players irrepressible enthusiasm for the game, willingness to learn, innovative moves, weird nicknames, ritualistic pre game preparations and their fierce combative spirit. The talent on display bodes well for the future of Victoria park rugby.
If the relative strength of side can be measured by the contribution of its leaders, this was the strongest side in the school. Captain Diego Bruiners was outstanding, leading by example on and off the field. He is a player of the highest caliber and his absolute passion and commitment to the team was invaluable to our team’s success. He was ably assisted by our fullback, Olwethu Msizi, who was never more than a stone throws away when help was needed.
What was particularly satisfying about our team’s success were the exciting victories recorded over our traditional rivals. In a tightly contested opening encounter Victoria Park secured a hard fought win over Westering high school. The match against Pearson was a nail biting affair with both team’s exchanging the lead on numerous occasions. In the dying moments of the match VP were able to capitalize off a scrum near their line and score a try to run out deserved winners. The team was unlucky to draw the match against Alex where we clearly dominated all phases of play and should have easily won the encounter at a canter. The highlight of the season was the match against Woodridge where we handed them a drubbing as backs and forwards ran rampant in a stunning display of 15 man rugby. The team also secured good victories over Cillie and Andew Rabie.
The foundation of a team’s success relies on a solid tight five and in this case we were fortunate to posses a talented group of individuals that were competitive in every match we played. Only their focus and intensity could be faulted at times, but when they were on the drive they were a joy to behold. The formidable front row of Zinzan Brown, Joshua Cashua and Wongalethu Faleni propped up the front and provided a solid attacking platform for our backs. Zinzan was a versatile player whose pace, strength and mobility made him equally effective in the front row as the back row. Joshua initially filled in for us at hooker as a replacement but his strong performances in the scrum and tight loose secured him a position up front. Lethu “Chicken” Faleni proved to be headache on and off the field where his burly frame thundered down the field for many a fine charge that left opposition players flailing in his wake. He only needs to keep his focus on the game and he could become a fine player in years to come.
Hardworking lock Brandon Lindly was our main source of ball at the lineout and his skills improved tremendously as the season wore on. He was ably supported in this role by Warren Hugo. Daniel Sutherland, Matthew Nazer, and Jesse Giselle , who formed the loose trio were extremely effective in securing good loose ball for our team. Sutherland was a terrier on defense and proved to be a thorn in the oppositions flesh, as he menaced the breakdown and plundered the ball with amazing regularity, securing our team vital possession. Matthew was living proof of Mr. Potgieter’s conviction that it doesn’t matter about the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. What he lacked in size, he made up for in determination and sheer guts. He tore through the opposition with relentless frenzy on attack and many opponents got up slowly after one of his bone jarring tackles. Jesse had a solid season at the back of the scrum and was an effective ball carrier.
Our backs were undeniably our strong point and when they found their rhythm, provided a potent attacking instrument. Our scrumhalves Mandilakhe Gunguluza and Bulumko Adams possessed a keen eye for exploiting the fringes around the ruck and got our backs away nicely. At flyhalf,Diego Bruiners record as top try scorer speaks for itself. Diego controlled play superbly, kicked intelligently, broke incisively and got his backline away with his hard running and excellent distribution. At centre Daniel Visagie was a wrecking ball, tearing opposition defenses to pieces and creating many try scoring opportunities for the wings. Baxolele “scabanga” Zimema was a devastating runner and when given space in which to move, scored a great number of good tries for the team. Tristan Ericssonn and Odwa Ntsikwe on the wings ran with speed and determination and rounded off many movements in fine style. Olwethu Msizi was a solid and dependable last line of defense and good on the counter attack. The oddly named Jason Koekemoer was a man for all seasons playing at centre, wing or fullback,successfully evading defenders with his elusive running style. Thanks must be extended to the invaluable contributions of the following reserves: Vuyisa Gqabaza, Manford Sifo, Thabang Lucas, Athenjwe Bailey, Unathi Malambile, Bryan Costello and Justin van Rooyen.
Mention must be made of the tour to Knynsa that will long remain fresh in the memories of the players in the u14 team. Not only for the good times had by all but for the screams of delight –or fear- on the player’s faces as they had the unique experience of gliding just meters over the beautiful rock faces and waterfalls of the storms river area thanks to the tree top canopy tours. For the 26 players involved the tour proved to be a great bonding experience as they were immersed in an itinerary that included a rugby match, trip to the waterfront and a number of unforgettable activities at our chalet.
This was certainly a most enjoyable season for all those were involved. Our sincere thanks to all the players for their hard work and commitment throughout the season, as well as to Mr. Potgieter, Mr. Jansen and the dedicated parents who always supported the side wherever we played.
Mr Kenneth Snodgrass and Mr Gareth Jacobson
