MZOXOLO BUDAZA
Villager recorded their second victory of the 2016 Western Province Rugby Football Association (WPRFU) Super League B season, beating Goodwood 26-24 in a tightly contested affair, at the weekend.
Ashley Clarke, Zubayr Adams, Nick Vetsos and Brody Blows crossed the try-line for Villager, while Daniel Clarke, slotted home three conversions.
With the new season just three weeks old, the Brookside-based outfit has already shown signs of brilliance.
They went to the weekend’s match, in Goodwood, with a record of one win and one loss after two rounds of league matches.
They started their season off well beating Macassar 34-15 away in their opener before going down 23-31 to Pniel Villager a fortnight ago.
Coach Paul Reeves’s side were, therefore, not going to let themselves suffer a second successive loss of the season, in their match against Goodwood.
The two sides were evenly matched for most of the first half but it was Villager who went to the half time with an upper hand, leading 21-12. To their credit, the home side came out guns blazing in the second half and spent most of the time in their opponents’ territory.
Villager, however, were not going to sit back and allow their hosts to dominate them, as they launched attacks of their own.
The second half belonged to Goodwood but that was not to secure victory as Villagers walked away with a narrow 26-24 victory.
The match also saw exciting winger Rafiq September making his debut for Villager.
September was introduced in the second half and immediately caused problems for Goodwood with his darting runs down the flank.
In his first year with the senior side, the former Manenberg Rangers winger said finally making his debut for Villager was special in many ways. This, he said, was because the side made him feel at home from day one and, as a result, he wanted to get to the field and reward them as soon as possible.
“I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and, when it came, I grabbed it with both hands. I know it is just the beginning, which means I have to continue working hard in order to challenge for a starting position,” he said.
Having been with Manenberg Rangers from nine to 19 years old, September said he learnt most of what he knows about rugby at the Primrose Park-based side. It was now, he said, his chance to take his game to another level.
Villager’s operations officer Rameez Ismail said September’s performance was not surprising at all, as he proved to be a great prospect for the future. He said the club have monitored September’s progress for a long time before finally recruiting him.
He said the youngster didn’t disappoint as he did well for the reserve sides and, in the process, climbing the ladder to the first team. He said the fans should expect to see more youngsters making their debut for the first team.
“We have come up with a new focus which involves attracting players for the right reasons. We also brought in Shaid Blake who, having worked with youngsters at Rangers in Manenberg comes with the necessary experience,”said Ismail.
Blake described September as a good prospect, because, he said, the young winger has a good understanding of the basics, which allows him play a simple game without trying to be over-industrious.
“I know him from an early age. He’s always worked extra-hard on his game and kept on improving. He worked hard, pushing his way to the first team. I am sure we are going to see more of him, this is just the beginning. In the game against Goodwood, for instance, he got two line breaks and almost scored two tries,” said Blake.
