Valke League a must win
Pre-season training has already started at the club, who are aiming to win the league.
“The (Valke) Peregrine League is non-negotiable. We must win it!”
That is the quote coming from the Brakpan Rugby Club.
The club’s chairperson Harry Nieuwenhuis has made it clear that the club needs to return to the top of the standings in the Valke Union.
With this in mind, they have gone back to having their pre-season start early, a trend they had seemed to buck in recent years.
The club are already two weeks into their training for 2023.
“The first training session already had about 60 guys, so it’s looking good,” said Nieuwenhuis.
“The 15 guys who played for the Valke U21 were been given a rest until next Tuesday. But we are on our way.
“Everything is looking great. A couple of new faces are joining from other clubs as well, so it looks good at this stage. We have young players in the squad but with big quality.”
The club intends to keep training until mid-December and then come back in January.
“We are having a pre-season with proper training. We have appointed Nadine de Bruin, an important biokineticist and good fitness trainer,” said Nieuwenhuis.
The club is also excited about the U21 players. The youngsters made it to the final of the Valke League and then many of them also played for the Valke in the Currie Cup Shield, where they made it to the final of the tournament.
“There’s a huge talent. They have been together as a group since age 18,” said the chairperson.
“It’s not just the U21s, but we have the existing first team. There are a lot of guys there with a lot of experience. It’s a mix between youth and experience.”
Although Nieuwenhuis has made it clear that the club wants to win the Valke League, there will be more competitions they will have to navigate.
Next year will see the launch of a new tournament called the Gauteng Cup where the top four clubs from the province’s unions (Valke, Blue Bulls and Lions) will take part. There will also be a return of the Gold Cup which Brakpan has performed well in the past.
“The Gold Cup looks like it will be a knockout competition where you play at the last weekend of every month,” said Nieuwenhuis.
“If you lose you drop to a lower level but if you win you continue in the competition.”
With Brakpan pushing hard to be ready for the season which will likely start in February, fans will be hoping the local club can bring silverware to Bosman Stadium.
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