JON HARRIS
Fish Hoek is home to the quintessential community rugby club, one which in its short existence is setting the bar, on and off the pitch.
Formed in 2004, Masiphumelele RFC grew from the merging of three rugby clubs in the Masipumelele township in Noordhoek. The merging of these three, All Blacks, Evergreen and Homeboys, with the majority of their players hailing from a cradle of South African rugby, the Eastern Cape, made perfect sense.
Their challenges were the same and pooling resources was the logical step to make. With not a single rugby field to show between them, training had to take place behind the Komicx building or on the open strip of land alongside the Sun Valley Shopping Mall.
Matches took place in Khayalitsha or Langa, which meant travelling there for every match, draining financial resources of players and the club. Keeping in mind, low wages and joblessness made contributions to travel expenses impossible and curtailed the growth in numbers.
Passion is a great motivator and those involved looked beyond these challenges in order to participate in a sport for which they had a deep passion. It was not only about match participation, it went about growing the club and the game in the Masiphumelele area. It was about the social value of the sport; about providing a platform for participation, on and off the field.
Durran Ndongo, a member of the existing club management, shared the story of Masi with his employer, the late Richard Beresford, who was captivated by the passion and need to help the fledgling club expand and achieve their goals. Dedicating hours of his work day exploring options and contacts, Beresford was introduced to Darren Clarke (now chairman), who embraced the goals of Ndongo and his co-organisers at Masiphumelele RFC.
Clarke soon had UCT rugby stalwart and respected businessman, John le Roux in his corner, and they set about finding rugby grounds and building the infrastructure required not only of a playing sector, but one supportive of the multi-racial, multi-social community role it needed to play.
The stated goal of this 20-year-old powerhouse is to strive to become a rugby club of choice in the southern peninsula, a regular fixture in the Premier League and then Super League of the WP RFU’s Club Rugby structure.
“We strive to not only build on playing successes of the past, but to ensure we have real relevance in the community,” says Clarke.
The chronology of the club is an impressive story of determination and challenge. After inception in 2010, having played in social rugby leagues since 2004, the club developed impressively.
In 2011, there was no room for the entry of new clubs into the leagues and it was through the fortuitous (for Masi) withdrawal of a club that Masi were awarded a spot in the division. The inaugural season saw them take league honours.
Still practising under the beams of car headlights, floodlights were installed to their first team pitch, which had a tremendous impact on the psyche of the members.
Their rise up the leagues continued, their second-place finish in Division Three the following year in 2013 affording them promotion to Division Two. Their performance in Division Three was remarkable and character-building, a competition acknowledged as one of the toughest in their fledgling history, but it built character on which they could later draw.
Moving into Division Two, the club utilised the services of Warren Edwards, well known in club rugby circles for his ability as a top flyhalf at Villager RFC, which they won and gained entrance to Division One.
Heady success indeed but the march of the Masi warriors was not yet over. The following year, they moved into Super League C, having won the Division One title in their first year.
Although still currently competing in Super League C, Masi are constantly among the top-performing teams and it is apt to remember that that is among the top 45 teams in the province out of one hundred.
Next step up for the club from over Ou Kaapse Weg is Super League B. Reaching this level may not come easy but the strides made by Masi since establishment show an inherent love and commitment to the club and community. The club strives to create a family-orientated environment, with safe play areas for children and facilities offering meals on match days. Players have access to gym facilities and their families enjoy children’s play areas, food stalls and bar facilities on match days.
Twenty years ago they were playing on a patch of grass in front of a shopping mall. Now that is self-driven progress.
