Tries, sweat and cheers at Nashua 7s
The Nashua Warriors successfully defended their title.
THERE was a serious buzz at Douglas Mitchell Sports Ground for the Nashua 7s rugby tournament last Saturday.
It may have been hot – rugby in February is no joke – but the rugby was entertaining and fun to watch, judging by the size of the turnout.
In the end, no one could match the local boys, the Nashua Warriors.
Not even Kapaailand, who have proven to be a troublesome opponent in years gone by.
The final was fairly one-sided, with the Warriors running away with it, by the margin of 26-12.
In fact, these were the only points the Warriors conceded the whole day. The Warriors touched down 45 times in six games, including the final.
Arnold Kruger scored the most tries (8), followed by Tienie Viljoen (7) and Chris Mitchell (6), who was also named Player of the Tournament.
The Plate final was won by Status Warriors, who beat Kokstad 28-10.
Ripa Rebels (from Pretoria) beat Toti 28-10 to win the Bowl final.
South Coast Crusaders were too good for Ladysmith in the Shield final, winning it 28-0.
More serious rugby lies ahead, with a trip to Matatiele for the Usher Cup this Saturday.
The Warriors have a chance to win it three years in a row and would very much like to do so.
They’re taking a pretty big squad.
While coach Christo Henderson might be tempted to give as many players as possible a run, he emphasised that the first priority was to win.
SQUAD
Props – Ben Oosthuizen, Lourens Stapelberg, Tian Malherbe. Hookers – Juandré Koekemoer, Jaques Coetzee, Kabelo Mocke. Locks – Karel van Rooyen, Jeandré Coetzee, Jade Nyman. Flanks – Renaldo Brieley, Dawie Durrheim, Pieter Smith, Jospeh du Preez. Eighthman – Juan van den Berg (captain). Scrumhalves – Chris Mitchell (vice-captain), Dylan Rust. Flyhalves – Jaques Petzer-Moore, Bailey Hart. Centres – Kayd du Toit, Jaco Rademeyer, Vincent Fibiger. Wings – Tienie Viljoen, Cameron McBean. Fullbacks – Arnold Kruger, Theo Nicolls, Eben Botha.
