Vryheid Rugby Club – Firsts and seconds dominate in Newcastle

“THERE is far too much talk about good ball and bad ball,” stated the late Dickie Jeeps back in 1976. “In my opinion, good ball is when you have possession and bad ball is when the opposition have it.”

Jeeps, who died at the age of 84 in 2016, was arguably “one of the greatest scrum-halves ever to grace the game of rugby,” according to The Telegraph.

Possession of the ball and unassailable domination by Vryheid Rugby Club‘s first and second teams on Saturday against the Mighty Buffaloes and Ladysmith Wolves respectively in the season opener for both first and second teams in the Northern Natal league, led to victory for both Vryheid teams as they managed to annihilate their opposition in two cataclysmic encounters at Arbor Park, Newcastle.

The second team faced off against Ladysmith Wolves, dominating from the start and running in five tries, with Devon Aspden resplendent at the posts with a 100 percent conversion rate for the men in maroon. According to Head Coach, Rich Verster, Johannes Kruger played a very good game and Vryheid snatched victory from the Wolves with a final score of 35 – 8.

Verster describes the first team match as “a total walk-over” against the Mighty Buffaloes, saying, “Although our first team played against a somewhat weaker side, you could see that the squad played with good structure throughout the match.”

Matthew Stride placed the first try two minutes into the match, setting the tone for the rest of the game as Vryheid destroyed their opponents with a monumental 16 try barrage, backed up by a 70 percent conversion rate from Francois Scheepers and a 100 percent conversion rate from Juan Booyens.

Khumbulani Khoza struck at six minutes with another try, followed by Matthew Stride paying another visit to the try line at 12 minutes.

Seven more tries from Vryheid in the first half left the Mighty Buffaloes lagging as Khumbulani Khoza, Francois Scheepers, Francois Lindeque and Sticks Mbatha all placed the ball over the line before the half-time whistle sounded and the scoreboard was indicative of Vryheid’s insurmountable dominance, showing 52 – 0 in favour of our local lads.

The second half offered no hope for the Buffaloes either as Lindeque and Mbatha wasted no time in crushing the opposing team’s hopes of a comeback with two more tries. Francois Scheepers followed suit with another try for Vryheid, followed by an additional five points on the board, brought on by Sticks Mbatha frequenting the try-line again.

Anton van der Walt added another try to Vryheid’s monstrous tally, followed by Juan Booyens, Francois Scheepers and yet another by the swift-footed Sticks Mbatha.

“Putting up phases opened up a lot of space on the outside for tries to be scored,” stated Head Coach, Rich Verster. “Vryheid dominated, overwhelming the opposition and gaining possession of the ball in all of their first phases, executing scrum and line-out balls with Lwazi Mdluli leading from the front.”

“The forwards’ support play was brilliant,” he added, specifically mentioning Anton van der Walt and Francois Webb. “Hand to hand passes and off-loads put the opposition under a lot of pressure.The backs’ running lines and skill allowed the outside backs, Sticks Mbatha and Khumbulani Khoza, to cross the try-line numerous times in the match and first team captain, Tinus Scheepers, was fearless in direct play, causing the Mighty to struggle.”

At the close of play, the scoreboard reflected Vryheid’s exemplary accomplishment on the field, as they triumphed over the Mighty Buffaloes with a massive 104 – 0 victory.

“I want to thank all involved for their support,” stated first team captain, Tinus Scheepers.“We are playing against a very strong Piet Retief side on Saturday on our home field. We would love to have all your support there this weekend,” he added.

Vryheid Rugby Club’s second team will face Piet Retief on Saturday at Cecil Emmett Park at 2pm, followed by the first team match at 3:30pm.