Rugby False Bay team members who are now part of the Stormers, Xolela Hoyi, Andrew Good, Ben Mathews, Collin Kemp and Ethan Rodgers.
Image: Supplied
Saturday sees Motorvaps False Bay RFC host their first SLA2025 at Constantia, when they welcome the University of Western Cape, back in the top flight after a brief visit to the Super League B, and what a festival of rugby it promises to be.
For the first time in a league match, the under-20 A and Bs will feature on the schedule, as the B-league migrates from Friday night fixtures to Saturdays. Adding to the magic of the event, the False Bay women's team open their league campaign against their Udubz rivals, making it a full schedule of six league matches at Constantia.
This will be UWC’s first league match after their Varsity Shield campaign, where they finished third on the table after Varsity College and Madibaz. It is a cruel oddity that teams returning to the respective club rugby leagues appear to suffer what is colloquially known as Varsity Cup Blues, a slow start to their campaigns back in the leagues. Whether it is the change in the pace or the physicality of the club game, or just simply the different environment, this bogey seems to strike, especially in the early stages of club rounds.
Udubz, having had some experience of this slump, and an unknown quantity considering that they regained SLA status at the end of 2024, look determined to burst onto the Constantia pitch and announce their candidacy as serious competitors across the leagues for all their teams.
Kicking off the programme will be the under-20 A clash. The Bay’s young guns, smarting from a narrow loss at the death at a blustery Strand a fortnight ago, will be in no mood to drop league points again. With WP under-21 players Ethan Rogers, Ben Matthews and Colin Kemp back in the fold, Kwakhona “Kwaks” Ngwanya will put a full-strength squad onto the paddock come 1.30pm Saturday.
“Saturday is going to be a special day, as it's possibly the first time since pre-Covid that the As and Bs will be playing league games at The Bay,” said Ngwanya. “Both teams are looking to bounce back after losing in the opening fixture.”
The Bay women's team also feature on the schedule, always bringing their special brand of energy and spirit to any occasion.
Motorvaps False Bay, disappointed with their two-point loss to Helderberg almost a fortnight ago, still show two SLA league points after that encounter, points invaluable in a competition widely regarded as the most competitive it has been in many seasons. No team can afford to drop points, every single point gathered in their campaigns will undoubtedly strengthen their claim for a Top Six finish, or conversely, to avoid the death zone for the relegation playoffs.
Doomsday talk before the third round of the season it may be, but this is a league of exceptionally high standard, and staying within the upper echelon is key to being more than an also-ran.
Coach Ashley Wells, smarting after the loss in the Strand, has been hard at work with his squad. The trip to the other side of False Bay must surely have boosted his confidence in terms of depth and available options. For one, moving livewire hooker Jaques Goosen to the side of the scrum when introducing bulky bulldozer, Kamva Mgwale, added a dynamic which produced moments. Several other players raised their hands. The mix of youth and established players was another point of note. Fullback Luck Jacobs showed some class in setting up Motorvaps False Bay’s final try, unleashing the darling of Constantia, Daniel Hayes to score another exciting try.
Defending Second League Champions, the Bay’s Second Team showed their class against “Berge”, delivering a final quarter performance which all but shut their opponents out and Adam van Willingh’s team will be determined to continue their growth. The success of the Bay’s Third XV is testimony to the depth and quality coaching and this fixture promises to thrill as it always does.
It may be a long weekend, but that is even more reason to get away from the couch and come down to the Phillip Herbstein Fields to enjoy some quality club rugby, the most undervalued of the jewels in the Western Province Rugby Union crown.
Proceedings start at 1.30pm. The main fixture kicks off at 4pm.
Jon Harris is a member of False Bay RFC.