Diggers Rugby Club kicks off pre-season games with a win
Game on as Diggers Rugby Club hosts Pretoria Rugby Club and Wasps for their first pre-season friendly encounter.
The stadium was buzzing when fans were treated to high-quality rugby as Diggers Rugby Club hosted Pretoria Rugby Club and Wasps for the first off-season friendlies at the Randburg Sports Club.
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Diggers’ third side opened the day against Wasps, and the visitors completely dominated, winning 31–0. The mixed teams of U19 and U21 players avenged their seniors by beating Wasps with a sweet 19–12 victory.
All eyes shifted to the main field where Diggers’ first and second teams were getting ready to do battle against Pretoria Rugby Club.
Diggers’ second team did not drop the ball, annihilating the visitors 41–10 to set the stage for the much-anticipated first-team encounter. The main game started in high gear for Diggers when Lwando Makongolo scored an early try, but Nick Joubert missed the conversion for a 5–0 lead. The visitors responded via a penalty, before going over the whitewash for an unconverted try, going into the break at 5–8.
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In the second half, the hosts threw everything they had against the visitors and were finally rewarded with a converted try from Siba Ncube to take a 12–8 win.
Diggers chairperson Andrew Collison said: “It was great to build good relationships with both rugby clubs. We will have a return fixture next year in preseason. Performances were indicative of early preseason, lots of mistakes, and fitness still in progress, but we were happy to see some new talent and plans coming through.
“It’s been great to watch some new faces integrate into our systems. They’ve added real value and experience to our young team. A lack of patience in gameplay and decision-making is also something we noticed but we hope, in six weeks, that will be in place.”
Collison acknowledged their supporters. “From a club point of view, the support we had from our community was fantastic. The numbers were great, and the vibe was there. In terms of rugby, the numbers and energy the players brought were amazing. Passion is vital for the year ahead, and we had that in bucket loads.”
Diggers’ first team will play Meyerton in Nigel next, while the second, third, and U21 teams take on Raiders in Maraisburg. They will then host Wanderers on March 15 in a derby for their last preseason match.
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