News from Paul Kaplan
Rugby Chairman
The season kicked off with a mini tour to George for a squad of 37 players, U20 and 3rd team played up at UCT. At the outset I must thank every player, coach, manager, committee member and you, our loyal supporters and sponsors for assisting us in getting to this point.
Piet and I travelled up to George and we were blown away by the professionalism of Charl, Coaches and the Players. Mention must be made of Tom and Lionel who did unbelievable work behind the scenes. Most impressive though was the manners of our players and each and every Villager member can be very proud of them.
Below is comment from the Progress management which sums it up…
“It was a good day. We learned a lot. We really want to thank you for the way you cleaned up the place where you were. I was there just to switch the lights off. Hats off to you guys really, i’m impressed”
Bouncer of the Dansplaas had this to say – shortened version
“thanks dat julle so ge manierd was gisteraand. Dit was die eerste dat a klub span hulle self gedrae het en steeds lekker gees gebring het”
What a great example and a massive thank you again! It’s great to see us cleaning the shed and trust all teams will continue in this light throughout the season.
As you might have heard Nic Gara has stepped down from the Chairman position and I would like to thank Nic for all he has done for Villager, through some very tough times. Thank you Nic!
There is much excitement on the committee as they undertake many projects, however at this stage I must state that our intention is to strive to better our club, our community and its people. We will leave no stone unturned in bringing forward a committed and transparent approach to our club.
See you all at the Strand game and if not then the Derby next week on the 25th.
U20 Match vs UCT:
Saturday past Villagers u20s team took on the UCT u20B side. UCT started off by scoring the first try but Villager u20s were not letting that dampen their spirits. Not too long after Villager scored and it was an even game from then onwards except in the scrums where our forwards dominated. Even though our forwards were dominating, we lost the game by a single point. A great effort from the boys and we keep our heads held up high because we will look to improve as the season gets underway.
3rd Team Match report vs UCT:
Our game wasn’t too bad overall for a team who trained together for one week as the players had to adjust to a new coach and new game strategy even though it was a simple one.
We started off badly conceding 2 easy early tries due to our players’ jersey pulling instead of throwing in those shoulder tackles. They were probably holding back due to the size difference between the 2 teams but eventually after a few more tackles and hits were made, then we were good because we only conceded late in the 2nd half again, fatigue taking its toll on the players.
I feel like we made them look good by not communicating loud enough and clearly with each other, and we had a few key passes that were either bad passes or dropped. We played most of the 1st half in our half, losing the ball very carelessly.
Our lineouts needed to be improved upon, but our scrums got better and better as the game went along and we started to dominate them. This assisted us in getting some good turnover balls at times.
I take this game as a “wake up call” as it’s certainly upped the players mood, they are hungry to play the next fixture and now everyone knows what they need or should expect from this league, and know what they should do going into the next week of training. We will definitely get better as the weeks go by and start ticking our boxes.
1st XV Squad vs Progress Rugby Club:
This weekend a squad of 37 players traveled to Wilderness for a pre-season training camp.
On Saturday the squad split into 2 groups to play Progress college in the Outeniqua stadium. As the teams ran out of the tunnel the heavens opened up and the rain came down.
The coaches were looking at certain combinations across both games and the outing proved to be extremely successful. Both teams ran out winners against very competent competition. The first group beat Progress 2nd team 21 – 5 and the second group beat Progress 1st team 29 -0.
The last 4 days of the tour have been made up of training sessions, mental strength sessions and team building exercises.
Congratulations to Emile, Jacques, Dian, Boeta, Thoubaan and Xolisa who have been selected to play for FREE STATE Currie cup team vs Pumas 25th March. We wish you all the best in what is a huge honour, not only for yourselves but for our entire club. We are sure you will make everyone proud, enjoy the experience and grab every opportunity with both hands!
Also to Charl who will be taking the Currie Cup team the following week – well done and well deserved. It’s great to have a coach with such a professional attitude and knowledge of the game be part of Villager FC. Charl has also been appointed as Vice Chairman of the club and we wish him well in this role. Charl will be back as will the players in time for the league.
Good Luck guys!
This weekend…
This weekend the Villager sides take on Strand Rugby Club at Brookside with all 4 teams are playing:
● 13H25 u20
● 13H30 3rd XV
● 14H40 2nd XV
● 16H00 1st XV
Fixtures 2023:
Date | Club | Venue |
15-Apr-23 | Hamiltons | Brookside |
22-Apr-23 | St Georges | Brookside |
06-May-23 | Helderberg | Charls Morkel Stadium |
20-May-23 | UCT | Brookside |
27-May-23 | Union Milnerton | Theo Marais Park |
03-Jun-23 | Brakenfell | Brackenfell Sports Ground |
10-Jun-23 | False Bay | Brookside |
24-Jun-23 | Tygerberg | Florida Park |
08-Jul-23 | Hamlets | Brookside |
22-Jul-23 | Durb-Bell | Durbanville Sports Ground |
29-Jul-23 | Kuilsriver | Jagtershof Sports Ground |
05-Aug-23 | UWC | Brookside |
16-Aug-23 | Stellenbosh | Danie Craven Stadium |
19-Aug-23 | NTK | Brookside |