GALLERY: Vryheid Rugby Club’s First Team claims victory against Piet Retief in first league match of 2018
With practice in the week leading up to the game, things started to fall into place and, with the team spirit building, everything was set up for a monumental clash between two of the biggest clubs in the league!
VRYHEID Rugby Club’s first and second teams went to Piet Retief on Saturday for their first league game of the year.
With practice in the week leading up to the game, things started to fall into place and, with the team spirit building, everything was set up for a monumental clash between two of the biggest clubs in the league!
Vryheid got on the board first with a penalty and managed to go into half time with a narrow lead. After half time, it was like a game of chess, where Vryheid would score and then Piet Retief but, with 10 minutes to go, Vryheid scored a brilliant try and took the lead back. With only five minutes to go to the final whistle, Vryheid’s fitness and superb defense paid off and they managed to score again. Tries were scored by Khumbulani Khoza, who landed two tries, as well as Johan Mentz, Devin Aspen and Kyle Xaba. Chris van Rooyen landed two successful penalty kicks as well as two conversions and the final score in this epic clash was 35 – 20 in favour of Vryheid.
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Man of the match for the forwards was Khumbulani Khoza and for the backs, Sticks Mbatha took the title.
“I would like to say thanks to Jaco Maritz, our Assistant Defensive Coach, for his input,” writes Vryheid Rugby Club’s Head Coach, Andrè Ellis. “It really paid off on the field.”
The second team struggled, having a tough day on the field. “Players need to have a hard look at themselves and make sure they get to practice,” adds Ellis.
Vryheid will host their first home game at Vryheid Rugby Club on April 21 and would like to welcome the whole community to support the team as they head forward into what promises to be an exhilarating 2018 season.
