It has been a year since the country has gone into lockdown, which brought club rugby to its knees as local players have seen no action.
The wait it seems will be coming to an end as April 24 has been scheduled as a date for the start of the Valke League.
While this is seen as good news, many are wary of how it will play out as the virus is still an issue.
This makes it difficult to determine how many teams each club will be able to field.
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“We don’t know how many teams will the clubs send through. Is there going to be u-20, second and first teams?” asked Brakpan Rugby Club chairperson Harry Nieuwenhuis.
“Some of the clubs might only have the first team and u-20s or maybe a first team and a second-team, we don’t know. The Valke will give us updates.”
Nieuwenhuis hopes that Covid-19 will not be an issue during the season, but he fears that it may be.
“If Covid-19 is going to be a bigger problem, I can’t see the clubs restarting themselves. We will certainly make a call not to. If we don’t start on April 24 we are going to can the season. We had actually decided to can the season but then when lockdown restrictions were relaxed we decided to slowly get back into action,” said the chairperson.
“The guys that think they are going to play for big money, it’s not going to happen. Nobody has money right now. Sponsors are very scarce. So it’s going to be an issue,” said Nieuwenhuis.
“The players will probably have to learn for one year to be just loyal and play for the love of the game. We might be able to assist with petrol money or whatever the case may be but it all depends on what’s going to happen, if there’s definitely a league then we’ll speak to our sponsors and take it from there.”
Clubs have been allowed to hold non-contact training and Brakpan’s u-20 players have been practising on Tuesdays and Thursdays while the seniors train on Thursdays. Contact training will be allowed from April 1.
Having not played in over a year, the players are in a race against time to get fit by April 24.
“Currently, we have about 40 or 45 players here, which is not close to what it should be. Usually, we start the season with about 100 or 120 guys at least,” said Nieuwenhuis.
“Some of the guys we have seen are not fit at all. I reckon two months’ training is not going to be enough. That’s going to influence the state of the rugby. I think we need at least three months to get fit.
“The guys have been at home for more than a year so the conditioning is terrible right now. I can’t single out a single guy that I can say ‘this guy is fine and he’s ready to play tomorrow’. So there’s going to be a lot of hard work. The trainers will have their job cut out for them.
“To get the players here is the first step. As long as we can’t say there is an official league signed off and this is who the first game is against, it will be very difficult to get them here. They will question what they are training for. Covid is still there, still have problems at home and they’ve got their jobs and their families.
“The whole Covid thing is still playing a major role.”
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It is not only Brakpan dealing with this issue as all clubs are in the same boat.
The local club, however, has an advantage as they have managed to keep their facilities in a good state despite the lockdown.
“I’m positive that most of the clubs are trying. According to the Valke information, 12 clubs have been certified (comply with Bok Smart safety regulations). So hopefully everyone will do what is necessary so we can play,” added the chairperson.
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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Thelma Koorts (editor) brakpanherald@caxton.co.za or Stacy Slatter (news editor) stacys@caxton.co.za
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