Vryheid Rugby Club hosted Richards Bay on their home field on Saturday. The first teams went head-to-head in an extremely difficult game, since the weather conditions were once again wet and muddy. Richards Bay is a strong, well-trained team and is part of the premium league division. However, this did not deter the Vryheid players from giving it their all. Richards Bay was a bit surprised, since they didn’t expect tough opposition and such an excellent display of rugby from the local boys. Richards Bay capitalised on Vryheid’s mistakes when they dropped the ball and this left an opening for the opposing team to make a move. In this way, Richards Bay managed to sway the game from defence to attack. The local players were more focused and committed, compared to the previous game against Piet Retief; they made less mistakes and the team’s discipline was ‘on point’ during this match. The boys displayed an outstanding defence structure, and the link between the forwards and backline was clearly visible and well maintained. However, this just wasn’t enough against such a strong team and the Vryheid lads eventually lost the game 21-24. A creditable performance nonetheless! It was a narrow defeat with only three points in it, which should give them confidence going forward. Jaco Maritz commented that the Vryheid team needs to work on their fitness and the players need to commit to practice. He hopes that more players will attend the practice sessions, which will enable the coaches to send impact players onto the field during games. “Richards Bay is an excellent team and I think they are going to do very well in the league. I wish them all the best and thank you for coming to Vryheid for the game. To Magnus Oosthuizen and his boys, we appreciate you travelling all the way here. Next time, we will go to Richards Bay to play. This was an excellent opportunity to gain some experience for our players and prepare them for Vryheid’s league. It is going to be an exciting Northern Natal League and the players are excited about this season. We invite the community to come and watch the games.” The League officially starts on April 23.
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