Hoërskool Vryburger High School is looking forward to a stellar rugby season, with four promising divisions competing in this year’s league.

The school has established itself as a strong rugby institution over the past five years, with a programme driven by two passionate rugby supporters and coaches, Bafana Moyo and Ruan de Lange.

From league champions to Noordvaal Cup champions, Vryburger has stamped its authority as a force to be reckoned with.

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The school was also named the best academic school in Germiston last year, while continuing to build its reputation as a rugby giant.

This year, Vryburger has four divisions competing in the Lions League Cup, League 5 Stream B.

The league is divided into two streams, with Vryburger aiming to finish in position one or two to qualify for the semi-finals.

The winners of the semi-finals will meet in the league final, where the champions will automatically qualify to compete in the Noordvaal Cup.

Speaking to coach De Lange, who actually serves as the schools head of sport, arts and cultures, explained that the school currently has U14, U15, U17 and senior teams.

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By the time of the interview on May 28, each team had lost at least one league match.

De Lange said Vryburger’s rugby programme remains one of the best-run programmes, despite financial challenges that arise every year.

“The U14 team is completely new and it is all thanks to Moyo. He has a heart and a gift for equipping young talent with skills. He teaches them everything from the basics,” said De Lange.

“Because not all schools have U14 teams, we have played four games and won three. We only lost to Glen Harvey High School.

“The U15s have played five games and only lost one. All our teams are second on the log behind Glen Harvey High School. They are tough competition this year for most of us.

“Based on how things are set now, we cannot afford to lose another game if we want to make it to the finals.”

De Lange said the school has strong teams, although the first team was a concern at the beginning of the season after losing about eight players from last year’s line-up.

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“They all matriculated and left. Even this year, about 90% of our players are in matric. The idea is to develop the juniors so they can take up senior roles in future,” he said.

“This year’s captain is Sphephelo Kohliso (18), who served as vice-captain last year. His leadership is missed whenever he is not on the field,” said De Lange.

The rugby teams train twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and compete on Fridays.

Alongside the rugby boys, the girls’ hockey team also had a positive season, finishing third in their league, which was an improvement from the previous season.

De Lange said the school is also looking forward to the soccer and cross-country seasons, which will resume next term.

“In the meantime, we have seen a number of boys who do not want to play the sports we currently offer showing interest in cricket. However, we do not have a coach for it. We are calling on anyone who can coach cricket to come and see us, but it would be on a voluntary basis,” he said.

He added that the school will also need to raise funds to support the rugby boys travels should they qualify for the Noordvaal Cup.

Vryburger also participated in the Ekurhuleni North District Chess League, where five learners made it into the provincial top 10 list.

“We had 24 learners competing in the league, which is a win for us.

“The girls’ rugby team also played three games this year,” said De Lange.

He added that the school still deeply misses former principal Stephanie Diedericks, who died in December last year.

“We want to win the league for her this year. We miss her so much. Personally, she knew me since I was born. She was my athletics coach in high school and my neighbour when I was growing up.

“I left education to open my mediation firm because I felt I was done with teaching. She then called me back to Vryburger to assist with geography, and almost 10 years later, I am still here,” he said.

Vryburger is no stranger to winning. The school are the reigning Noordvaal Cup champions after securing a 28-12 victory in the final on August 23 against Maragon Mooikloof.

As of May 28, all teams were second on the log gearing up to play an away game against Highlands North Boys High School.