First Side - Alberton Rugby Club Official

ALBERTON RUGBY CLUB IN SUPPORT FOR MARAIS VILJOEN

Members of the Eland XV players and coaches paid a visit to watch Marais Viljoen High’s rugby fixture yesterday. The support between club and schools of the Alberton community is great to see.

This is the talent that will be filtering through the rugby systems of Alberton Rugby. Growth in the community and rugby.

FIDELITY ADT ELANDE HOSTING UJ AT HOME

UPWARD CURVES FOR OUR YOUNG SIDE

The Elande knew Uj is coming to Alberton but Uj did not know what was waiting for them. Scores are sometimes very deceiving on paper than watching the actual game. Again one or two basic mistakes very late in the game gave Uj the upper hand. The young side of Alberton are improving week after week. They took the game to Uj and on some plays of the game they had the upper hand on Uj. The score near the end was 20 – 13 to Uj with the Elande making attacks after attacks. Final score 25- 13 to Uj.

POINT SCORERS

TRIES – NKOSSINATHI NCUBE AND THYLOR PAULSEN

PENALTIES – SJ VAN ZYL

FIDELITY ADT ELANDE HOSTING RAIDERS AT HOME

PANIC IN THE EYES OF RAIDERS SUPPORTERS

Nerve wrecking till the end. The Fidelity ADT Elande had their supporters on their toes up to the end of the game. Trailing 21 -20 till near the end saw them attacking Raiders white line but could not dot down for tries. An intercept try at the end clinched the game for Raiders 35-20. Big things to come for this side of the Elande.

POINT SCORERS

TRIES – CHRISTIAAN LE ROUX ,

PENALTY TRY. X1.

CONVERSIONS – SJ VAN ZYL

PENALTIES – SJ VAN ZYL X2.

FIDELITY ADT ELANDE TAKES ON PIRATES RUGBY CLUB

SQANDERED OPPURTUNITIES

If Fedility ADT Elande used their opportunities this would of been a different ball game. On this level any opportunity that comes your way must be turned into points. The game was not easy for Pirates who is currently the front runner in the league for the open clubs. A huge improvement can be seen in the Elande side. Pirates won the game 36-3.

POINT SCORERS

PENALTIES – KEEGAN VAN SCHALKWYK

FIDELITY ADT ELANDE TAKES ON ROODEPOORT RUGBY CLUB

NOT TO EASY FOR THE POORTE

Coming to Alberton with a big previous win in their mindset the Fidelity Adt Elande made it more difficult for Roodepoort this time. Missed opportunities on the Fidelity Adt Elande side was the downfall on the day. Showing some brilliancy on the day was not enough to keep the score board rolling. Roodepoort won the game 36-3.

POINT SCORERS

PENALTY – KEEGAN VAN SCHALKWYK

FIDELITY ADT ELANDE TAKE ON WANDERERS

Dladla Stars as against Wanderers. The first round of the Castle Lager Pirates Grand Challenge the Alberton, Fidelity ADT Elande snuck over the line to emerge victorious 10-0. The 2nd round conjured a totally different result. The fire lighter moment was when Jarred Steyn went on a barn storming run effortlessly shrugging of the efforts of would-be tacklers in practically the first play. The petrol to the fire was when Lindo the Ox Dladla made the hit of the season on one of the Wanderers playmakers. The Wanderers team quickly found themselves 6-0 in the lead due, but the moment and small battles at that stage had already been won by the Elande. The 3000 strong spectators were in for a treat as the Elande put on a display of champagne rugby for the t rest of the Game.

In uncharacteristic fashion the Elande give the ball some air and the wings enjoyed ample attacking opportunities. This was a result of a first-round rectification where by Wanderers got the better of the Alberton scrum. This time around the cards were dealt differently and Dladla together with the tight five worked exceptionally hard to regain respect in the tight phase.

The Eland ran in 9 tries on the day, all the members of both the back three and loose trio had a hand in add to the score by way of Tries. Another standout player Keegan Van Schalkwyk also chipped in with a try for and a couple of conversions.

After the game the celebrations of the 53-13 victory went on till late, being entertained by the likes of Juan Boucher. The Elande will be looking at improving on their first-round performance against the lads from the far west, Roodepoort. Come down to the club in support of our local hero’s.

POINT SCORERS

TRIES – JARRED STEYN X2, CHRISTIAAN LE ROUX, SHAUN POTGIETER,LESEGO MAELANGWE, KEEGAN VAN SCKALKWYK, JASON BOTHA, BYRON VAN ONSELEN AND JUSTIN LIEBENBERG.

CONVERSIONS – KEEGAN VAN SCKALKWYK X4

OUR MEN IN PINK FOR CANCER DRIVE

This week our side worn a pink outfit for the Cancer drive project at the club.

2ND ROUND OF CASTLE LAGER PIRATES GRAND CHALLENGE STARTS AGAINST WITS UNIVERSITY AWAY

BEATEN BY A PRO OUTFIT

It is not easy to take on a side that was part of the Varsity Cup and gained some more players from other Varsity Cup sides. These sides train twice a day and 4-5 times a week. Club sides train twice a week for 1 and a half hours. It is not easy to close that gap to be competitive. Alberton stood their guns in the scrum, lineouts it was not easy for Wits in these departments. Mistakes in the red zone gave the Wits Team the upper hand. Final score 71-10 to Wits.

POINT SCORERS

TRY – ROBERTO TORRES

TRY – THYLOR PAULSEN

ALBERTON TAKE ON LOG LEADERS PUKKE

Alberton will take on the log leaders this Saturday at Alberton.

The Eland bull Torres finds himself back in the fight. The solid frame of Roberto Torres will look to add some physicality to the Elande’ s infantry. His dedication on defence will have to be of paramount importance when the Elande take host the Varsity Cup Champions Potchefstroom’s Puk outfit. As he dons the 6 jumper the responsibility of slowing down the students’ rucks will also fall on his broad shoulders. His partners in crime completing the loose trio will come in the form Jared Steyn 7 and Shaun Potgieter at 8. Shaun Botha partners JJ Kruger, the two will be entrusted with locking the scrum and assisting Torres in upping the physicality factor for the Elande. The front row goes unchanged Brandon Schoultz will bare the line out and hooking responsibility, propping him will be Brendon Schafer and on the tight side Lindo Dladla.

Wiley halfback Nathi Ncube retains the Eland 1st number 9 jersey, the first five eight is ex puk student Keegan Van Schalkwyk. The pair will have to be clinical with regards to decision making should they want the Eland flyers to enjoy space and quality possession.

The Speed king Thylor Paulsen’s performance against UJ where he turned around and reeled in sub 11 second 100-meter athletes earned him another cap on the wing. Paulsen has done this against most of the opposition this season, reeling in their quickest player. It will be imperative to give this lad the ball in space to utilise his pace on attack. The mid field responsible for creating this space is Juan Westenberg and Bennie Botes filling in at second five- eight. Winger Byron Van Onslen and Jason Botha join Paulsen as the outside backs.

The engine room spare parts are Lesego M, Jean Combrinck, Stiaan Pelzer, Jiovanni Botha, and Christiaan Le Roux. Daniel Westenberg will be back up to his brother, versatile Sj van Zyl will cover what ever is needed at the back and the Honey Badger Mark Verwey will play cover for the back 3.

ALBERTON BEATEN BY STRUCTURED RUGBY

Pukke played structured rugby against a Alberton side that never gave up. Alberton showed some glimpses of good rugby that they can play. The scrums and lineouts was a improvement on previous games. The players are starting to form a unit which are starting to pay of. Alberton had 6 penalty opportunities to convert into points but decided to kick to the sideline to set up drives. The Pukke won the game 50-3.

POINT SCORERS

PENALTY – JASON BOTHA

WISE WORDS FROM SPRINGBOK LAWRENCE SEPHAKA.

He was also a coach several years ago and a chairman a couple of years ago at Alberton Rugby Club.

ALBERTON TO HOST UJ AT HOME

SECOND HALF BELONGS TO ALBERTON

Alberton showed glimpses in the last 20 minutes against Uj the same structure they played against Raiders last week. If they can play the game as the last 20 minutes for two full halves they will be a side to be reckoned with. The final score 41-10 to Uj.

POINT SCORERS

TRY – THYLOR PAULSEN

PENALTY – JASON BOTHA

CONVERSION – JASON BOTHA

POSITIVE WORDS

Best wishes for tomorrows game against Uj came from Springbok Elton Jantjies and ex Alberton first team manager Tanya Ulgheri. Krappies Smit now staying in New Zeeland also gave his wishes for tomorrows game. Krappies was the scrumhalf and Captain of Alberton a couple of years ago.

NATHI NCUBE IN ACTION AGAINST RAIDERS. After Mr Ncube’s brilliant performance at scrum half against Raiders he has earned himself another start for the Elande this weekend against the University of Johannesburg. The livewires decision making was impeccable, and his snipes around the rucks kept the defence honest. With Ncube at 9 coaches have elected to utilise Thylor Paulsen’s speed at right wing. Paulsen will play the wings to fullback Jason Botha’s strings with Paulsen partner and stand out player from the Raiders fixture Byron van onslen. A new centre combination with the absence of the rugby brothers Westernberg, Bennie Botes fills his regular jersey and the versatile SJ Van Zyl gets rewarded for his consistent performance throughout the season. Van Zyl’s boot will come in handy should the opportunity arise. Keagan Van Schalkwyk retains the 10-jumper partnering Mr Ncube at 9. The Eland forwards will be the key to a solid performance should the backs want to display their abilities. Jean Combrink moves to the bench to make place for Brendan Schafer. Schafer, Brandon Shoultz and Lindo Dladla taking up the 1, 2 and 3. The pistons of the engine room will be JJ Kruger partnering Jovanni Botha once again, this combination is one of the more established ones in the side, the two also enjoyed each other’s company at the 2nds before they got promoted. The lose trio will, like lions be hunting in a pack. Christiaan Leroux will play the open roll with Shaun Botha steadying the scum at the back His name’s sake Shaun Potgieter will flank the blind side. The reserves see the return of newly wed Stiaan Pelzer. Noticeable inclusion in the Eland first are ex UJ sevens start James Mofekeng and hard running, low tackling Thato “Jakes” Modise. The rest of the finishes make up of Mark Verwey, the hard man Jarred Steyn, Roberto Torres and Lesego Maelangwe. Kick off is at 16:00 and we hope to see the community out supporting the lads.

ELANDE TRAVEL TO THE BILL JARDINE STADIUM FOR THE RAIDERS ENCOUNTER

The Elande will travel to the Bill Jardine Stadium this weekend to take on Raiders in their 5th Castle Lager Pirates Grand Challenge encounter. Also a big thank you to Lions prop forward Jp Smith for his motivational words before the game against Raiders. Best wishes also came from Norman Swanepoel an EFC Fighter and Eland exco member Ramon Glauss who is currently in Egypt.

CAN COMPETE WITH THE BIGGER CLUBS

After several losses the past couple of weeks the first side bounced back with a performance Raiders will never forget. This is one of the best matches the spectators experienced from the 1st side in the past couple of years. Although the score was 24-10 in favor of Raiders when the ref stopped the game 20 minutes into the 2nd half Alberton was on the way back to cause an upset. The game showed that the youngsters do not have to stand back for any team in league.

POINT SCORERS

TRY – JARRED STEYN

CONVERSION – JASON BOTHA

PENALTY – JASON BOTHA

ALBERTON VS PIRATES AT GREENSIDE

After a difficult game against Roodepoort, the Elande made a couple of changes for the clash against Pirates this coming weekend.

Well deserved starts and positional changes are part of the plan for the Elande too bounce back.

Brandon Shoultz gets a start at hooker, joined by the big Lindo Dladla and Brendon Schäfer. JJ Kruger gets his first start of the season after putting in the work at 2nd team level, Shaun Botha will be his lock partner. Jared Steyn, another new start who’s getting better game after game joins Roberto Torres and line out genius Shaun Potgieter finishing up the pack that needs to take the game up.

Thylor Paulsen will partner with captain, Bennie “warthog” Botha as the halfbacks for the game. A positional shift for the returning Jason Botha sees him in the midfield with Danny Westenberg. The flyers will be made up of Byron van Onselen, Juan Westenberg and for the second time, Mark “honeybadger” Verwey.

Jean Combrink, Lesego Maelangwe, the Soul of the Elande, Solomzi Nhlabathi, Alex Venter and Jiovani Botha will put in the work from the bench. Tot point scorer of the club, SJ van Zyl gets his opportunity from the bench, joined by Keagan van Schalkwyk and Nkosinathi Ncube.

PIRATES AT FULL FLIGHT

Although the final score shows 55-0 to Pirates on the score board the young and inexperienced youngsters still gave Pirates a run for their money. Various opportunities were never used to turn them into points. A young team full of talent are lacking confidence . Once this problem is resolved the way ahead will be a warning to other sides in this competition.

MOTIVATION BEFORE PIRATES ENCOUNTER

Motivational speeches were done before the encounter against Pirates by ex Alberton players Ruan Nel and Shane Kirkwood. Ruan is currently playing for the Stormers and ex Blitzsbok hero. Shane is currently the Pumas captain. The Pumas is the Currie Cup holder.

ALBERTON VS ROODEPOORT AT BASTION HIGH SCHOOL AWAY

The Badger gets rewarded with the Honey

Nick Cummins the Australian fullback has been dubbed the Honey Badger, for his eccentric style, fearless attitude and superior intellect on the paddock, the same characteristics of Alberton Rugby Clubs own Mark Verwey. Verwey gets the nod in the 15 jumpers for the clash against Roodepoort in the far west. Regular fullback Jason Botha will make his impact of the bench. Juan Westenberg moves from the mid field to partner Byron van Onselen on the wing. Daniel Westenberg takes his brother’s 13 jumper, the Warthog Bennie Botes slots in at 12 making space for Keeagan Van Schalkwyk at 10. The talented van Schalkwyk will have to dictate play with his half back partner Thylor Paulsen.

The forwards have not been compromised by a couple of positional changes and the return of stalwart eight-man Shaun Potgieter. The front row with its balance of agility, strength and speed will be looking to make up for the set piece display against Wanderers. Lindo (The OX) Dladla and Brendon Schäfer will be joined by Xhadi on hooker for his first start of the season. The men entrusted in supporting the rectification of the set pieces will come in the form of Shaun Botha who moves to lock adding some weight to the tight 5, he will be joined by the hard-working Stiaan Pelzer. The physical Roberto Torres also makes a welcome return to the side, joined by Alex Venter.

The bench sees a few new faces, as Jiovanni Botha, Solomzi Nhlabathi gets the nod. Joined by Brendon Shoultz, Jean Combrinck, Jarred Steyn, JJ Kruger, Nkosinathi Ncube and Jason Botha.

ALBERTON VS WANDERES AT HOME

CLOSE GAME TILL THE END

This game was evenly match between Alberton and Wanderers. The score at 0-0 at halftime showed that any side could take the win at the end of the game. Juan Westenburg slotted a penalty after half time giving Alberton the lead by 3-0. Alberton started to play more structured rugby at the end. Captain Bennie Botes had another blunder of a game. A clean break took him through the defense of Wanderers when he stepped 4 opponents which lead to the try of Justin Liebenberg. A conversion from Fullback Jason Both who had a steady game slotted the conversion. A deserved win to Alberton 10-0.

POINT SCORERS

TRY – JUSTIN LIEBENBERG

PENALTY – JUAN WESTENBURG

CONVERSION – JASON BOTHA

1ST SIDE SQUAD

FORWARDS

BACKLINE

FIXTURES FOR 2023 SEASON

ALBERTON VS BOKSBURG AWAY

GAME OF LOST OPPURTUNITIES.

Boksburg playing in their 3rd game of the season got the upper hand due to lack of concentration in our 1st game of the season. In the first 20 minutes we had the pressure on the opponents and our opportunities we could not turn into points. We can take a lot of positives out of this game when we take take on Diggers next week in our Derby game at Alberton. On the days play you can see there is a upward curve in Alberton Rugby. Boksburg won the game 34-17.

POINT SCORERS

TRY – ANDRE GOLIATH

TRY – CHRISTIAAN LE ROUX

TRY – JUSTIN LIEBENBERG

CONVERSION – JASON BOTHA

ALBERTON VS DIGGERS HOME

BIG IMPROVEMENT FROM BOKSBURG

This Saturday we saw a huge difference on the field comparing to last Saturday. From the start we took control and played a game that put some joy on faces of the spectators. New Captain Bennie Botes who played his 120th game for Alberton kept his troops together. Jason Botha who had a stunner were nominated the man of the match award. The complete squad played a role in this victory of 41-10. If we can continue to play this type of rugby we can for see many surprises this season.

POINT SCORERS

TRY – SHAUN POTGIETER X 2

TRY – SHAUN BOTHA

TRY – BYRON VAN ONSELEN

TRY – ALEX VENTER

TRY – XHADI MAKALIMA

TRY – JUSTIN LIEBENBERG

CONVERSIONS – KEEGAN VAN SCHALKWYK X 3

ALBERTON VS GERMISTON SIMMER HOME

A NIGHT NOT TO REMEMBER

Germiston came to Alberton with one thing in mind and that was to beat Alberton. Alberton used the game for preparations when they take on Wits University in two weeks time. Basic mistakes was the name of the game. Germiston Simmer capitalized on the Alberton mistakes and scored a number of tries. Alberton came back the last couple of minutes by scoring two tries.

POINT SCORERS

TRY – MARK VERWEY

TRY – JASON BOTHA

SQUAD AWAY WEEKEND TO PARYS

SKILL AND CONDITIONING COACHING BY COACH JUAN SWART

ALBERTON VS WITS AT HOME

The first 20 minutes Alberton kept Wits away from the white line with deadly defense. Huge tackles were the order of the day. With 4 Varsity Cup players in the Wits side the defense had to open for Wits to score tries. Many mistakes from Alberton saw the experience came through from Wits who scored several tries and the final score 48-05 to Wits.

FINAL SCORE 48-05 TO WITS

POINT SCORERS

TRY – BYRON VAN ONSELEN