First rugby team receives hero’s welcome despite loss in Top 8 round

Louis Trichardt's first rugby team’s winning streak in SA Rugby’s national Gold Cup series came to an end on Saturday, October 5, after a 70-6 defeat against the men of College Rovers in Durban. However, for the team, it remains a proud moment to have been able to participate in the Top-8 round of the series, and on Sunday, they received a hero's welcome from supporters upon their return.

Louis Trichardt's captain, Danie Mienie, said in an interview immediately after Saturday's match that they had known the College Rovers game would be a tough one, but despite the defeat, he was incredibly proud of his team members. For him, the fact that Louis Trichardt, for the first time in the club's history, had made it to the Top 8 of the series was a remarkable achievement. “I couldn't be prouder of the guys. It was a good learning experience to see what is required to play at the top level,” Mienie said. He added that the club's players all worked full-time and had families at home. "Still, they showed up to practice every Tuesday and Thursday, sometimes on Wednesdays too," Mienie said.

For Mienie, the match in Durban, and especially against College Rovers, was somewhat of a “homecoming.” This is where his career started in 2010 in the Currie Cup for the Sharks. As part of his contract with the Sharks, he played club rugby for College Rovers. During his rugby career, he also played for Griquas, Cheetahs, and Lions. Internationally, he represented Toulouse in France in the Top-14 league and also played rugby for Rovigo Delta rugby club in Italy in the Top-12 league. But it was at College Rovers where it all began. “I was quite nostalgic at times, because I played for them for five years. All the places we moved around, I was there. On Friday, I arranged a visit to the Shark Tank (Kings Park Stadium) for the guys, where we spent some time on the field and in the locker room. I saw a few familiar faces there, which was wonderful,” Mienie said.

For Mienie, it was a pleasure to captain Louis Trichardt this year. "I'm now playing for the reasons I started playing rugby. I'm enjoying it again. It takes me back to my childhood days when I carried a rugby ball around all day," Mienie said. Regarding his plans for the new season, Mienie said he had already committed to playing again.

The club’s head coach, Pieter Viljoen, was equally proud of the team’s achievements in the Gold Cup and thanked the players for their dedication and perseverance. However, he also had high praise for the team's supporters. “Thank you very much to the community for their loyal support, both financially and on the sidelines. It meant the world to the whole group,” Viljoen said. In the same breath, he also thanked his fellow coaches (Jimmy Luvhimba, Stefan “Swannie” Swanepoel, and Lukas Visser) and the club's management.

For Brian du Plooy, chairman of the Louis Trichardt Rugby Club, the first team’s achievements in the Gold Cup were also a proud moment in his life. “I’m proud. I actually need to buy a bigger shirt, I’m so proud. We are very proud of our players, and I would like to invite other men out there to come and play for the club, no matter for which team. We need everyone who loves rugby,” Du Plooy said on Tuesday.

According to Du Plooy, one should never underestimate one’s abilities. "This is just proof that we, as a small town, can compete with such great men. The match score wasn’t really a true reflection of the game. Those men [College Rovers] came to us afterward and said they had never had such a hard game. We have a bunch of 'Boer seuns' here who ran them off their feet. The men didn’t stand back for anything,” Du Plooy said.

Regarding their plans for the next season, Du Plooy said they would like to involve more men from rural areas in the club. “There are men from the rural areas who played rugby for the first time this year and even moved up from the third team to the second team. We want to help these men and develop rugby in our area to play Super Rugby,” Du Plooy said.

But these things all cost money, and according to Du Plooy, their trip to Durban took a toll on the club’s finances. “Our expenses to Durban were high. We had to get the players to and from the airports ourselves, and we had to provide for their meals. The Gold Cup only covered accommodation for two nights. We had to pay for a third night ourselves, so that the men could just rest. These were expenses we hadn’t really budgeted for, but we’ll make a plan and get through it,” Du Plooy said.

Date:11 October 2024

By: Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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