By Chesley Daniels
Rosebuds 1st XV continued their unbeaten run in 2024 with a hard-fought 22-10 win over visitors Algoa Park in a friendly rugby encounter at the Alicedale Sports Ground on Saturday 6 April.
The home side went into the break with a healthy 17-5 lead.
The preseason friendly win over a very competitive Algoa Park side handed Rosebuds their fifth win for the season, and they remain unbeaten in 2024. This bodes well for their preparations and confidence heading into the Epru-Sedru Regional League Competition that will kick off after the Epru AGM on 20 April.
A decent crowd watched the encounter despite cold and rainy weather conditions. The rugby enthusiasts are hungry for rugby in Alicedale, and nothing will stop them from supporting the Transriviere team. The atmosphere was terrific as the crowd witnessed exciting and entertaining rugby from both these talented sides.
From the 1st Reserve curtain-raiser until the main game, the standard of rugby was a pleasure to watch and was total value for money for the spectators. Both teams executed unbelievable sportsmanship and camaraderie as the game was played in an excellent spirit.
From the 1st XV kick-off, it was challenging, physical, brutal and highly competitive until the final whistle. Both teams needed to be complimented for a fantastic game and how they conducted the battle whilst not disappointing the supporters.
The first half was a bit scrappy due to the wet conditions and surface, with both sides making unforced errors and being handed numerous scoring opportunities. The visitors came hard at Rosebuds in the early stages and were determined to end the Buds’ unbeaten record.
Rosebuds forwards showed dominance in the scrums while their young backs put in a strong performance with their speed and skill out wide. Athenkosi Khoma, the outside centre of Algoa Park, scored in the 20th minute of the first half. At the same time, Roses dominated further proceedings with three tries from Algin Buys, Charl Barthers and Delynn Gouza, while Shaneed Peterson converted to give the home side a healthy 17-5 lead at the break.
After the break, it was a more intense contest, with both teams ringing the changes. The visitors never laid down and executed a different approach in the second half, putting the home side under pressure.
Algoa Park played with more determination and fire and was rewarded with a fine team try, by JC Webber. Rosebuds lead 17-10 halfway through the second half as the crowd rallied behind their soldiers. Both teams continued to come hard at each other, launching wave after wave of attacks.
Roses’ young and speedy backs had other ideas and gave the ball a lot of air by running hard at their opposition. These paid dividends when young, talented fly-half Shaneed Peterson, scored the only try for his team in the second half, taking the game away from Algoa Park.
The score remained 22-10 for the remainder of the game. The home side held on to their lead despite the onslaught from the visitors constantly attacking inside their 22m area. In the end, the experience of Rosebuds took them through, and they defended well in the closing stages to walk off as deserved winners.
Rosebuds captain, Charl Barthers, was pleased after his side’s win and praised his players, especially his hardworking forwards. “I really want to thank the boys, especially our forwards, who performed very well today; they were very physical for the past five games. Our new coaching staff worked a lot on fitness as we are not 100% fit but game fit. We are sitting with many young backline players who just came out of school and needed to get into the system.
“They are very exciting, talented players, and we are immensely proud of them. We lack on defence, but we have to work very hard on that going forward into the league. We are confident we will give our opposition a go in the upcoming league as we gain a lot of confidence in these preseason wins. I am very proud of the boys as it’s been a while that we are winning five games on the trot and that makes us excited for the league that will kick off very soon,” he said.
The powerfully built inside centre of Rosebuds, Charl Barthers, earned the Grocott’s Mail/Daniels Media Man of the Match award. Not only did this former EP U21 Player score a fine try, but he was also rock-solid in defence and a headache with ball in hand on the attack with his strong and powerful ball carries. Barthers, who also captained the side, had a brilliant all-round performance.
The Community Rugby clubs Rosebuds and St. Marks also thanked the sponsors who made the day possible by sponsoring rugby and netball balls: Carara Agro, Legends Cash Store, EC’s Fit and Go, and Daniels Media.
