Vryheid Rugby Club hosted a ‘Rugby Day & Market’ on Saturday. Not only could visitors stock up on some goodies and handmade products, but they also had the opportunity to watch two exceptionally good rugby matches. Vryheid’s second team played against Pongola in a tough but disciplined game. Even though Pongola has a new and young upcoming team, they didn’t back down and gave Vryheid a ‘run for their money’. However, at the end of the day, experience reigned and Vryheid managed to bag the game with a score of 33-17.
In the second game of the day, Vryheid’s first team did some ‘teeth grinding’ against Sentraal. Sentraal looked top-notch on the field; they were physically and mentally ready for the game, compared to Vryheid’s team who lacked some discipline. This is Sentraal’s third or fourth game as a new team. The spectators were privileged to see the battle between the two inside centres (wearing the number 12 jersey), Vryheid’s Vic Foster and Sentraal’s Xander Kriel. Both these players showed exceptional skill during the tackles and defence manoeuvres. Not only was their defence above average, but when they had the ball, they went on the attack and aimed for the try line. And yes, they scored with ‘flying through the air’ tries. Vryheid addressed their discipline issues and kept things tight to win the game 26-14.
Jaco Maritz says that the ‘Try of the Year’ has already been allocated to Vryheid’s forwards and backline. Unfortunately, he says that during this match, the wheels came off a bit and the team lost focus, making unnecessary mistakes. He says the biggest challenge is to get the players to attend the training sessions twice a week to form a stronger and more powerful team. On the positive side, the rugby club is picking up with regards to new sponsors, and Jaco is aiming to build the club up again compared to previous years. They require the support of the players as well as the community. The team will play against Eshowe this coming weekend, and everyone is welcome to watch this ‘away’ game. On April 2, the club will take on Richards Bay on home ground.
Jaco would like to thank both the Pongola and Sentraal teams for the opportunity to play against them. Furthermore, would he like to thank those players from the Vryheid first team who helped out in the second team by playing two full-time games and still had excellent defence against Sentraal.
(Photos are courtesy of Lavender Blue Photography)
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