Belhar won’t stand back for ‘abrasive’ Bay

FALSE BAY travel to unbeaten Belhar today and should win this Western Province Super League A match comfortably.

That’s not to say that the men from Constantia won’t be pushed hard; their opponents have momentum at the moment, having won both starts to date.

But the Bay are a quality unit and will have their sights on challenging defending champions Maties and Durbell for league honours.

Their 54-10 away victory over newcomers NNK was the ideal way to kick off their campaign. The full house of bonus points places them third on the 15-team standings headed by Hamiltons, who have won both their outings with maximum points to lead on 10 points.

Likewise second- placed Belhar (nine points) who followed up their opening-round 17-13 win over league rookies Kuilsriver with an impressive 41-34 home over Primrose.

The Bay play hard every time they run out onto the field and opposition teams know they’ll be tested at set- pieces.

Belhar’s best chance of winning this one rests with their front seven matching and gaining the upper hand over their counterparts in every department before giving the lively backs licence to thrill.

“We know the Bay are tough nuts to crack with their abrasive style, but we won’t be standing back for no one no matter what,” said Belhar’s rookie head coach Bronson Weir.

“We enjoyed a fine preseason down in Port Elizabeth where we downed both Despatch and Gardens, the latter win was something very special for the boys because Gardens had a huge crowd in attendance and we took them out good and solid.

“We’ve followed that up by beating Victorians before pocketing two good wins on the trot in the league. I’m sure we can make a good fist of it and keep our unbeaten record intact,” he added.

Belhar often in the past lose their top players to other clubs who are believed to make attractive offers to jump ship, and Weir wants to change that around.

“We see some of our former players driving past us to their new clubs and that is never nice to see, so my goal is to try and get our top guys to stay put going forward,” he said.

“Is it worth it the extra thousand-and-a-half rand to move way? I don’t think so if we can just get these players to buy into our culture.

“They can achieve just as much, and more importantly, become role models to the younger guys. Now that’s worth plenty more than just money.”

Here’s hoping the likes of Joel Booysens, Dennis Cox and Siphamandla Dama stay with the club. It’s good to see Earl Rose giving the youngsters words of wisdom.

The Bay will be fielding a player named Justin Filllies out on the wing, who a couple of years ago broke his leg which threatened to derail his promising career.

The former Rondebosch old boy joined the club a few years back and became an integral part of the team dynamics.

He’s got the ability to pop up anywhere and that makes him a big threat with his pace and nimble footwork off both flanks. Today’s SLA fixtures (home teams first): UWC v NNK; Tygerberg v Brackenfell; SK Walmers v Victorians; Primrose v Kuilsrivier; Hamiltons v Sir Lowrians; Durbell v UCT; Belhar v False Bay.