FALSE BAY RUGBY CLUB

 

The FIFO preseason began in early January and it was clear from the start that the team was eager to build on what they had achieved last season. It was great to see so many familiar faces attending practices but what was more pleasing was to see the new faces that had been recruited during the off season. A vital factor in the success of the FIFO’s has been the ability to continually recruit new faces each season, this season was no different.

 

Included in the sweat and tears of preseason was the team spanbou day. This has now become an annual event on the FIFO calendar and is seen as the proper start to our season. Goals were set, members of the team were selected in various important positions and most importantly the vibe in the team was at an all time high. With preseason and spanbou out the way it was time to get down to the real reason we play for False Bay Rugby Football Club.

 

The season started with a tough away fixture to Helderberg which we managed to come out on top. We continued to grow from there with victories over Villager and Goodwood but it was Dur-Bell away that would be our first real test. Unfortunately we came unstuck in the last move of the game but this only served to pull the team tighter and more determined. We managed to pick ourselves up after that agonizing defeat and string victories together whilst other teams dropped points and saw us head into the break sitting pretty on top of the log.

 

The second half of the season got off to a very frustrating start as our first game back was washed out due to torrential rain and then Goodwood couldn’t field a team. This was not the ideal preparation for a top of the table clash as we faced Dur-Bell in the return fixture at home. Thankfully the rust was shaken off very quickly in that game and we managed to get home, albeit by the narrowest of margins. Hard fought victories over UCT and our fellow club mates put us in the ideal position heading in the back end of the season as we pilled the pressure on the chasing pack.  There were just a few more obstacles to overcome before we could call ourselves champions again!

 

Victory over bottom of the log Villagers and UCT losing to the other False Bay team put us one victory away from securing the title. Unfortunately we came short, again losing in the dying minutes of the game to UCT. Thanks to some results during the week we headed into our final game against Villager as league champions as we put in one of our better performances to finish off the season with a victory.  

 

Back to back Reserve League champions has a great ring to it and you can bet the new management staff of 2016 will be aiming to emulate what has been achieved. We bid farewell to Marc Douglass who has been part of the team since 2011 and took over the coaching position in 2013. His record reads played 48, won 39 lost 9. He will certainly be missed but we look forward to his support and those inspiring team talks.

 

2015 will certainly be a season to be remembered both on the field and off it. We look forward to the challenge of 2016 and know what awaits us as we now have an even bigger target on our back.