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Honey Badgers hosted league teams for last dance
Bryanston’s Honey Badgers rugby teams ended the season with a few amazing closing games. The Honey Badgers hosted an end-of-league rugby day tournament at Bryanston High School on September 14. The day kicked off with U6–U9 games and eased into senior games in the afternoon.
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Two Honey Badgers games stood out – U11 Badgers versus the new team on the block Northcliff Warriors; and U10 Badgers versus U10 Pirates. Although the visiting Warriors suffered a 10-point loss (7–17) to their U11 home-side opponents, team coach Johan Muller could not hold his pride in his players’ performance. Muller shared the team’s background about having recently formed in May, explaining the luck which got his team invited to the tournament.
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“We wanted to give our players game time, so we phoned the Golden Lions – and, thankfully, I knew them from when I played,” Muller said. “We got accepted within six weeks. We organised teams, kits and jerseys. Now, in Gauteng, we have over 150 boys training. Our senior side is playing their first game, in a week, against the Wasps.” Muller said that the Warriors focused on building the individual character of each player.
“The most important thing for us as Warriors is to play full-out,” said Muller. “Mistakes don’t matter; you can drop the ball, but as long as they give their all out there, and never give up.” In the U10 Badgers versus U10 Pirates game, the visitors looked impressive in the opening moments of the game, scoring their first of two unconverted tries. This spurred the Honey Badgers on and they scored four tries of which three were converted to lead 26-5 at halftime. In the second half, Pirates scored two more tries, one converted, but came up short to lose 17-26.
Bryanston Honey Badgers’ vice chairperson Neo Ntombela said, “Every child who is here has got the potential to be a Springbok. More than anything, these tournaments bring them a focus of mind and purpose; this allows young rugby players to apply themselves towards that goal.”
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