Tafel Lager Griquas downed By the Lions in Semi Final  

by | Sep 9, 2019 | Rugby

Tafel Lager Griquas downed By the Lions in Semi Final

 

Once again the Xerox Golden Lions had the better of Tafel Lager Griquas, on Saturday in the semi final of the Currie Cup Premier Division, winning by 34 points to 19. Halftime score was 21-13 to the hosts. The match was played at the Emirates Airline Park (Ellis Park).

An extremely bitter and disappointing blow for the Griqua supporters, as Griquas had done so well up to the last two matches, both against the Lions, where they lost their round robin encounter a week earlier, in Kimberley by a solitary point.

One Griqua support had this to say, after the game, “Despite a brave performance that ensured that the game was in the balance till 10 min before the end, too many handling mistakes and missed tackles ensured that the team played catch up rugby all match. The scrumming struggled and over elaboration at the lineouts meant that the ball got to the backline under pressure. It is difficult to be sure how much Brent’s resignation affected the performance today but the match was a disappointing end to a very good season.”

However one of the SuperSport commentators said that Griquas plans did not work out accordingly and also for the last two weeks did perform to their full potential and asked the question if it was because of Brent Janse van Rensbug’s announcement that he was leaving as head coach.

Conditioning and fitness coach, Jacques du Toit told the DFA, “We were hoping to get one back over the Lions after last week’s loss but it was not meant to be.”

Du Toit continued saying, “Despite the loss, we are proud of the guys and how hard they have worked this season. We have put systems in place that can only take Griquas forward. The hard work done this year will allow us to have a good 2020 season and in conclusion well done to the players on reaching the semi finals, maybe next year we can go one step further and bring home the trophy”.

Meanwhile, the Xerox Golden Lions produced a mature performance in their effort, booking their first final since 2015.

Led by an inspirational performance by the loose trio, in particular Hacjivah Dayimani the Lions were sublime both on attack and defence as they kept Griquas at bay and never allowed them to take the lead in the game, eventually winning comfortably in the end.

Marnus Schoeman and Cyle Brink played an equally impressive part while the young lock Ruben Schoeman’s workrate stood out on the day.

Everything Griquas seemed to throw at the Lions they simply had an answer for, and scored when it mattered most to control the game.

Griquas, however, battled in the scrums and lineouts, but also enjoy the majority of the territorial play, but were unable to convert this into points. Another SuperSport commentator mentioned that he thought that the psychological  pressure on Griquas was that they have not played in a semi final since 1998, which is quite a long time ago.

Point Scorers

Xerox Golden Lions – Tries: Madosh Tambwe, Stean Pienaar, Hacjivah Dayimani, Marnus Schoeman. Conversions: Shaun Reynolds (4). Penalties: Reynolds (2).

Tafel Lager Griquas – Try: Chris Smit. Conversion: George Whitehead. Penalties: Whitehead (4).

In the other Semi final fixture between the Cheetahs and the Sharks in Bloemfontein, the home side cruised through 51-30 to host the final next Saturday.

Kimberley Golf Club Report 2 September 

by | Sep 9, 2019 | Other Sports

Kimberley Golf Club Report 2 September

 

The Saturday Club IPS had the best three players as Adrian McLaren (39), Bradley Slingers (37) and Nico Ross (36).

Saturday’s “A Business Spring Golf Day” presented by Dirty Birdies and hosted by Heinrich du Preeze, World and Guinness Book of Golf Records holder, added another 64 players.  The format was a BBS played from a scramble drive, all players receiving a prize.

Top score on the day belonged to Doctors Muzapher Allie and Mohammed Belim, with 48 points. Andries Kori and Jackie Beukes were the runners-up, just one point behind. Hein and Christiaan Voight were third on 46 points.

Helena Janse and Venetia Salo were the best of the 42 pointers.

LJ Thomane claimed the Friday Sun Flamingo Meat Niner, alone on 21 points. Four players followed on 20 points.

The count placed Phillip Maritz, Susan Alexander, Bernie Turton and Helena Janse second to fifth respectively.

Evan Painting’s two birdies on the nominated holes ensured not only eight pointers, but, a hard to beat 27 points for the Thursday KWV Powerplay Niner. Kevin Wakeford (24) and Neil Langley (23) were second and third, also with several powerplays to their credit.

Gerrit Roux returned the best score in the Wednesday John Dory’s IPS, 40 points. A count-out on 39 points deemed Melvyn Haai the runner up and Gavin van Zyl third.

The coming week

This week, tomorrow it is the Darsha Insurance Brokers IPS. On Thursday it is the KWV Powerplay Niner, immediately followed by the 3 lt. Roodeberg draw.

On Friday the KGC hosts the annual Kimberley Boys High School Golf Fund-raiser. This will be followed by the Sun Flamingo Niner and the snowball draw.

On Saturday it is the annual Trinity Methodist Church Golf Fund-raiser.

Tafel Lager Griquas Head Coach 

by | Sep 9, 2019 | Rugby

Tafel Lager Griquas Head Coach

The Tafel Lager Griquas are happy to announce that they have promoted the Assistant Coach, Scott Mathie, to the position of Head Coach for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, to replace the outgoing Head Coach Brent Janse van Rensburg.

“We feel very fortunate to have a staff member within our current system that is good enough to take over the reins. After a very successful rebuild of our program during 2019, it was important for us to ensure that our squad is not exposed to another rebuild with more changes in 2020.” said Tafel Lager Griquas CEO Arni van Rooyen.

The Tafel Lager Griquas President, Jannie Louw, said that Scott was intimately involved in the successful 2019 season, is familiar with the foundation laid and all the systems that are currently in place.

“Scott has a very good understanding of the environment, has already built up relationships with all management members and players that will allow for continuity leading into next season, which we felt was important to ensure that the positive momentum made can be built on.” said Louw.

“I feel honoured and privileged to be entrusted with this responsibility. I am very thankful to Griquas for showing faith in my abilities to continue with the program. I want to thank Brent for all his hard work and the effort he put into this season, which allows us to build on the great foundation laid this year. Focusing on consistent improvement will be a fundamental aspect for me, which we will adopt daily leading into 2020.”

The Tafel Lager Griquas squad in 2020 will boast a lot of continuity that will also boast the signing of additional players who will further strengthen our squad. All other current staff members will remain in their various roles leading into 2020. This will result in a large amount of continuity amongst players and management members.

The knowledge that Scott has accrued from a 12 year professional rugby career and the lessons he learnt from coaching at all levels helped him develop into a deserved recipient of the Tafel Lager Griquas Head Coach role.

After leaving school Scott represented Tuks 1 where they won the Clubs Champs in 2003, and he also represented the SA u19 team that achieved 3rd place at the World cup.

He gathered a wealth of knowledge having previously played professional rugby for the Sharks and Bulls at Super rugby and Currie Cup level respectively, whereafter he represented Sale Sharks and Leeds Carnegie in the English Premiership, during which time he also obtained a BA in English and History, before ending his career at the EP Kings.

Scott spent his playing career under the supervision of many elite coaches including ex-Springbok coaches Heyneke Meyer and Dick Muir as well as current Hurricanes Head Coach John Plumtree and ex England international Neil Back. Under Alan Solomons, the current Director of Rugby at Worcester Warriors is where he spent his last two seasons back in South Africa at the EP Kings.

Scott soon thereafter felt his way into a career within coaching, previously assisting Janse van Rensburg at Varsity Cup level and at Grey High School. Thereafter, Scott joined the traditional boys’ school and alma mater, the Durban High School. Appointed as the Director of Rugby and 1st XV Head Coach, Scott oversaw a period of rapid transformation at the school seeing DHS consistently in the top 20 rugby schools during his time at DHS. Scott was also the Head coach the Sharks U16 Grant Khomo, U18 Academy Week and U17 Seven’s teams.

To add to his repertoire, he spent his evenings as assistant coach of the Durban Collegians, where he was able to develop his attack and backline repertoire with the club.

Scott was reacquainted with our outgoing Head Coach, Brent Janse Van Rensburg, when the Tafel Lager Griquas appointed him as the Assistance coach at the start of 2019. Responsible for the Attack and Backline play of the team, his growth under Van Rensburg has been immense, as our team went on to win the SuperSport Challenge Cup and qualify for the Semi-Finals of the Premier Division Currie Cup for the first time in 21 years.

There is no doubt Scott will look to build on the platform that has been laid in the Diamond City and with the sweat and grind of rebuilding a program with just a two-man coaching staff in 2019, he will have an inside knowledge of what it takes to ensure the continuity and success of the rugby program at Tafel Lager Park continues into 2020.