Barberton Rugby Club’s first team are the champions of Mpumalanga.

The team, winners of the Lowveld section of the Phakisa Mpumalanga Mayor’s League, faced the champions of the Highveld, Ermelo II, at Coronation Park on Saturday.

Barberton won the provincial final 48-26, outscoring Ermelo II by eight tries to four.

Due to the rain of the previous two days and the about 15 sevens rugby games that were played at Coronation that morning, the pitch had taken a hammering and was not in a good condition. The slippery, broken surface was not conducive to good running rugby and both teams had to adapt their game.

Despite a scrappy first half Barberton led 31-19 at half-time. Ermelo II did not come to lose and scored three tries against Barberton in the first half, something not many teams have done this season.

Barberton made too many errors and were a bit lucky to hold an 11-point lead at half-time. They let themselves down by not putting Ermelo II away.

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A few stern words were said at half-time and a motivated and positive Barberton team came out in the second half and showed why they had won the Lowveld section of the league.

They did the basics well and everything else fell into place. They outscored Ermelo II 17 points to seven in the second half.

The hard work the Barberton boys had put in on the training field, from preseason to last Thursday’s final practice, came through as their fitness showed in the last 30 minutes of the game. The Ermelo boys tried and could not keep up with the pace.

Ermelo II never gave up and played spirited rugby, but in the end the 48-26 scoreline was an accurate refection of the game. Barberton’s set pieces were clinical, particularly the scrums on the slippery pitch.

Barberton captain, Jaice Terblanche was full of praise for his teammates’ effort on the day. The secret to their success this season was the hard work and dedication put in by all the players and coaching staff since early in the year.

“Every Tuesday, every Thursday practice, all the players were totally committed. It was a remarkable effort from everyone. I take my hat off to all of you. Your commitment was unreal and it showed on the field. Thank you very much,” Terblanche said.

He informed Lowvelder that he played his last match on Saturday and will hang up his boots after eight seasons for the club. That is of course, unless his teammates convince the 30-year-old otherwise.

Scorers

Barberton
Tries: Themba Maseko, Phulani Sowana (2), Hans Meyer (2), Leon Pretorius, Mark Pretorius (2)
Conversions: Juandré Smith (4)

Ermelo II

Tries: Cornel Pieterse (2), Vincent Sonnekus, Henk Jacobs
Conversions: DC Swart (3)

Matsulu won the Mpumalanga Mayor’s Reserve League title by default when their opponents, Ermelo I, did not honour the fixture.