Annual Rugby Championships - Complete

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Sitrep 29 July 2005

Friday was finals day. The tension and atmosphere was almost tangible as the clock ticked ever closer and closer to kick-off time. Brig Genl Schoeman delivered the game ball by helicopter which landed on the main field. A Scottish bagpiper led the two teams onto the field for the plate final and after Brig Genl Schoeman greeted all the players and officials, it was game time.

The LBWG team completely overpowered the Rhinos in a game that saw quite a few tries again. The Rhinos did however put up a great fight, but the sheer will and determination of the LBWG team secured them the win by 41 – 5. The LBWG team grouped together after the game and proudly sang their team song and celebrations soon followed.

Overall, LBWG won the Schapie Blake Trophy as the Plate winners; they shared the Try Scoring Trophy with the Warriors and were the team with the lowest number of points scored against them for the entire Championship. A truly great achievement.

After all the celebrations following the plate final, a group of drummer girls gave a terrific show as prologue to the Final. Brig Genl Schoeman also greeted all the players and especially Sgt Bomela, to whom this Championship was dedicated after he was paralysed in a SAAF Rugby Championship a few years ago. YPLT came out firing on all cylinders and placed pressure on the Warriors from the start. This was to prove a winning recipe as they ran in try after try without any reply from their opponents. The full-time score of 29 – 0 secured the Tellumat Trophy for YPLT. A well deserved victory for a team that performed extremely well throughout the Championship.

Following all the excitement of the finals and great Championship, a lavish end function was held, which was graced by the presence of the Chief of the South African Air Force Genl Gagiano. Quite a few of the Officers Commanding and high level sponsors joined the occasion, which was one of high spirits and great jubilation.

The following awards were given out:

The best player of Thursday was Otto Schoester.

The best referee of Thursday was Jaco Truter.

The referee of the Championship was Amos Kampi

The player of the Championship was Otto Schoester.
 

The Ters de Kock Trophy was awarded to 68 AS for their team sprit and dedication throughout the Championship. Some of their members even had to write exams during the event.

The Pottie Potgieter Trophy for the most tries scored during Tuesday to Thrusday was shared between AFB LBWG and the Warriors.

The Schapie Blake Trophy for winning the plate was awarded to AFB LBWG.

The Tellumat Trophy for the overall Champions was awarded to AFB YPLT.
 

Over the entire Championship approximately 75 tries were scored and the quality of rugby was outstanding. It was confirmed that the 2006 Championship will once again be held at AFB YPLT. Everyone agreed that the Championship was organised and conducted to a very high standard and YPLT must be complemented for their efforts. The evening was concluded with the announcing of the Air Force Team for 2005.
 

Thursday 28 July 2005

Best player on Wednesday (M. Perucotti)      Best referee on Wednesday (T. Graham)

An absolute picture perfect Cape Town greeted the players this morning. The mountain was clear which was perfect as the photo session was scheduled for this morning. After the formalities it was of to Goodwood for a day that would determine the teams that would play in the finals on Friday.

Due to the turmoil in the log of the main draw, there was quite a few scenarios which could have occurred, and all the teams new exactly what they needed to do to reach the final. The Warriors took that to heart in their slaughtering of the Limpopo team. They needed to win with a bonus point to secure their spot in the final and did just that. The game between WKLF and YPLT was a conservative one from YPLT side, knowing that they were already in the finals, they played many of their reserves to rest their main players for Friday. WKLF on the other hand played their hearts out and showed the form that won them the trophy a few times already. They stepped of the field as victors over YPLT but due to the emphatic win by the Warriors, their Rugby Champs was done. They left the field singing their team song and with them knowing that they will be back next year.

The last game was between LBWG and the Rhinos. This was a surreal game, seeing that these two teams will meet on Friday again for the Plate Final. Thus both of them also played many of their reserves to rest the other players for the final. It was an extremely entraining match, with two sides that had the measure of each other on almost all aspects. In the end, the cracks appeared and LBWG capitalised on them and won comfortably in the end.

Friday is finals day. Firstly the plate final will be played at 12:00 between LBWG and the Rhinos, and then afterwards the overall final between YPLT and the Warriors. For both teams this would be a dream come true. Both of them have won the trophy before, but this being the first championship in the Cape it would be a memorable one to take home.

Results

Warriors beat Limpopo 54 – 17
WKLF beat YPLT 40 – 17
LBWG beat Rhinos 24 – 7
 

Wednesday 27 July 2005

    Best player for Tuesday (Sgt Mark Snodgrass)                       Best referee for Tuesday (F Sgt Johan Zimri)

The teams all awoke to some lovely sunshine in the Cape today, this was however accompanied by the normal South Easterly winds which made the rugby all that more challenging.

Today was a day of overwhelming victories and surprise for some. This together with an absolute try festival gave all of the spectators and teams quite a bit to cheer about. For those that could bear to take a break away from the fantastic rugby, the local Ford Dealer gave them the opportunity to test drive the all new Focus, which was welcome change from hard rugby fields and smelly change rooms.

The week was also starting to take its toll on the players, who began to tire quicker and found the going difficult against the other teams and the Cape Southeaster. Thursday will be the last day of the round robin matches before the finals on Friday.

With the victory of the Warriors against WKLF, the log in the race for the overall victory is now wide open with only YPLT in a commanding position. The rest of the teams, still in the running, will only have Thursday to book a place in the final. We wish all the teams the best of luck.

Results of Wednesday 27 July 2005

LBWG beat 68 AS 38 – 3
YPLT beat Limpopo 48 – 7
Warriors beat WKLF 38 – 17

Programme for Thursday 28 July 2005 - Games will start at 12:30

Warriors vs Limpopo
WKLF vs YPLT
LBWG vs Rhinos

Tuesday 26 July 2005

Dawn broke this morning with a sense of expectation in the air. The teams all slowly awoke after what was hopefully an uneventful night, although that cannot always be guaranteed. After brunch the morning parade was held and the player and referee of Monday was announced. Afterwards it was of to Goodwood for the day’s games.

The rugby was exceptional, firstly WKLF and Limpopo battled it out, it was a fiercely contested game, which could have swung either way, but in the end WKLF proved to have what it takes to take the victory.

Monday’s best referee (Amos Kampi)

Next up were the Rhinos against 68 Air School. Almost everyone agreed that this was the game of the day. One must realise that the team from 68 Air School is a completely new team, and even still, they came out with fire and passion. The lead in the game changed almost every 10 minutes and it took a try in the last seconds of the match to secure the win for the Rhinos.

The last game was between YPLT and the Warriors. The game could well be described as one where you needed to take your available opportunities. YPLT managed to do just that, and placed pressure on the Warriors. The Warriors put on a brave fight, but unfortunately, the damage was already done.

Monday’s best player (Innes Greyling)

Results

Wklf beat Limpopo 17 – 12
Rhinos beat 68 AS 32 – 31
Yplt beat Warriors 23 – 5

Wednesday’s upcoming games

WKLF vs Warriors
LBWG vs 68 AS
YPLT vs Limpopo
 

Monday 25 July 2005

A rather gloomy Cape Town greeted all of the players this morning, the weather was a complete reverse of yesterday. Cold, overcast and rather windy, which didn’t help the game of rugby. All the teams converged on the Goodwood rugby fields for the opening ceremony and the games for the day.

The opening ceremony was a lavish affair with the Army band giving a great performance, all the teams marched onto the field in an “Olympic Games” fashion and took their places on the field. After the address by the Officer Commanding AFB Yplt Col Butler, the Patron of rugby in the SAAF Brig Gen Schoeman officially opened the Championship for 2005. After a performance by a few members of the “Kaapse Klopse”, and a memorable fly-by of a Dekota and Oryx, the games commenced.

Overall, the quality of rugby was of a very high standard, during the last game of the day, the heavens opened up with a true Cape Town rain shower which added to the drama of the last game, which up to this point was already a hard fought and close affair.

The results of the first day’s games are as follows:

AFB Yplt beat AFB Lbwg 15 – 6
Warriors beat Rhinos 20 – 12
Limpopo beat 68 Air School 29 – 18

The programme for Tuesday is as follows:

11:30 Warriors vs AFB Yplt
12:30 AFB Wklf vs Limpopo
13:30 68 Air School vs Rhinos
 

Sunday 24 July 2005

All the teams arriving in Cape Town today could not have asked for more perfect weather. The sun was shining, almost no wind and Table Mountain was as clear as can be. All the teams arrived in high spirits and settled into their different living quarters. After the Management meetings a church service was held followed by, a very nicely prepared supper. After all that the teams retired to hopefully uneventful night before the great battles commence tomorrow.

A special word of thanks goes to AFB Ysterplaat for all their preparations and effort they put in to ensure that all the teams felt right at home. All the teams were briefed by their allocated hosts wrt all the schedules and programmes for the evenings and the next day, and went out of their way to ensure that all the teams were comfortable.

Good luck to all teams participating in the Championship and may the best team win.

The programme for tomorrow is as follows:

10:30 Forming up for parade
11:00 Parade
12:00 A Field Ysterplaat vs Langebaanweg
12:30 B Field Air Comd vs MDW
13:30 A Field WKLF (Bye)
14:00 B Field Limpopo vs 68 AS