National Club Rugby Round-up – Week 2
Two-time National Club Champions Despatch put a forgettable 2010 season behind them when they recorded a 57-14 victory over Grahamstown Brumbies on the opening weekend of the Eastern Province Grand Challenge.
The result was a personal triumph for a new-look side as well as their new coaching team that includes legendary Springbok centre Danie Gerber and former Bok and EP lock Adri Geldenhuys – both of them Despatch legends.
The experienced quartet of Geldenhuys (forwards coach), Gerber (technical advisor), EP Sevens coach Eric Toring (backs coach) and SA U20 team manager Willem Oliphant (director of rugby) have been tasked with not only helping Despatch return to winning ways but guiding them back to the tournament in which they made their name.
Gerber almost single-handedly put the Eastern Cape town on the rugby map when he led a bunch of no-name journeymen to a famous victory in the 1985 final in Durban.
With their trademark black-and-white quartered jerseys, Despatch’s unheralded players became instant household names when, in a match broadcast live on national television, they beat a star-studded Tukkies team and then repeated the heroics three years later.
Despatch won the EP title in 2008 for the first time in a decade but the club has never really come close to matching the exploits of two decades ago.
“We had nine stalwarts retire at the start of last year and we were suddenly without guys like prop Ryno Jonker, who had been part of the furniture for a decade,” said Despatch president Marius Swanepoel. “We really battled and at the end of the season we sat down with Danie and Adri, who both said they wanted to give back to rugby. Sponsorship is hard to come for clubs but Gap Management have come on board, so things are looking bright.”
The coaching staff have been able to attract a number of provincial players, including EP loose forwards Elroy Ligman and Sivuyile Kobokana, utility backs Ryan Brown and Deon Booysen, and former EP captain and eighthman Michael Vermaak.
The team’s victory last week was also significant in that they fielded eight players of colour in their starting XV. “Despatch has a reputation for being a traditional white town and club but we’re trying very hard to changes that perception,” said Swanepoel. “We look at the rugby player, not his colour, and the guys who are playing are there because they’re best players.
“Clubs around the country are changing in a similar way and I think that in five years we won’t see colour at all.”
In other action from around the country, Buffalo shrugged off their narrow defeat to the University of Fort Hare in the opening round of the Border Super League to post a 16-3 win over Winter Rose in a match played at the Buffalo City stadium in East London.
In the Leopards’ Neser A league, Klerksdorp beat Leeudoringstad 45-26 while Malelane caused an upset in the Mpumalanga Lowveld league when they beat Nelspruit 25-10.
Bridgton held on for a 19-18 win over Evergreens in a SWD Premier League match played at Outeniqua Park in George, while up north Brakpan flexed their muscles with a 75-36 win over Boksburg in a Valke Peregrine Super League derby.
In the Western Province Super League A, FNB Maties recorded their third win in six days when they beat Victorians in midweek and then Villager 23-18, while newly-crowned FNB Varsity Cup champions FNB UCT were too strong for Helderberg, winning 30-10.
• Premier leagues have already kicked off in 10 provinces. The Golden Lions’ Pirates Grand Challenge kicks off on Friday, with the Blue Bulls’ Carlton League and the KZN Premier Division starting on Saturday.
• For full nationwide results from the past weekend, log on to www.sarugby.co.za and click on the Club Rugby link.
• There are more than 800 clubs affiliated to the 14 provincial unions, of which a total of 135 compete in their respective top leagues this year for the chance to qualify for the season-ending SAA National Club Championships, taking place from 17-23 September in Stellenbosch.
• SARU will publish a national club rugby round-up every Tuesday until the end of September. In addition, weekly fixtures, results and logs from the 14 top provincial leagues will be updated throughout the season on the SARU website.
• You can also follow SARU’s club rugby coverage on Twitter at @saclubrugby
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