Club rugby season in danger
Brakpan will play their first official league on Saturday when they face East Rand United at Bosman Stadium.
The club rugby season might have started but it could end abruptly.
That is the opinion of Brakpan Rugby Club chairperson Harry Nieuwenhuis.
The season kicked off on Saturday but Brakpan had a bye after seven cases of Covid-19 were reported in their ranks before their opener against North-West University, who also had to deal with cases of the pandemic.
Nieuwenhuis feels that rugby clubs are struggling to perform at their best during the pandemic.
“We are trying our best but it’s not easy,” said the chairperson.
Brakpan will play their first official league on Saturday when they face East Rand United at Bosman Stadium.
The home side will be going into the match without too much training.
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“We had to go into isolation after our pre-season game against Centurion,” said Nieuwenhuis.
“We’ve only had about three training sessions. The stop-start nature makes it difficult for teams to create any kind of rhythm to their preparations.
“At one stage we wanted to cancel the season,” said the chairperson.
“It’s weird to manage the game like this. Doing the administration has been tough. A logistical nightmare.”
Nieuwenhuis said Brakpan has maintained a positive attitude but he wonders how long the season will carry on.
“I just don’t know how long it’s going to carry on. They have already stopped contact sport at schools. I doubt that we can finish the season,” said the boss at the local club.
The chairperson also feels that his club is not too far away from pulling the plug on their season.
“If we have another case (of Covid-19) we’ll pull the plug. We’ll still assist the Valke but club rugby is not looking good,” he said.
“It is difficult tracking all the players and their families and everyone around them.”
Another thing that has not been easy is getting the senior players to show enthusiasm.
“The senior players might have realised that home is quite nice during the lockdown. They have families to worry about so you can’t blame them,” said the chairperson.
“If this gets cut short then club rugby will have a serious issue in 2022. The younger guys are still happy to play but the whole situation with the pandemic has made the older players reluctant. We could see players retiring two or three years earlier than expected.”
The rise of coronavirus infections has also become a cause of concern.
“If you look at the hospitals in Brakpan they are full and people are getting sent out to hospitals elsewhere,” said Nieuwenhuis.
“I think the season could be stopped, I hope not though.”
He said the fitness levels of the players are also not at a level you would normally expect from a club as big as Brakpan.
“Normally we start our pre-season preparation in October and train for five months before the season starts. Our fitness levels are nowhere close to what you would expect because of this,” said Nieuwenhuis.
“Some players do manage to train by themselves but not all of them. We’re still positive but it’s going to take time to reach the levels you would expect from us.”
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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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