Sidestepping their way to glory

Western Cape Touch Association succeeded despite 90% of the players being new and they also had 12 new coaches

THE Western Cape Touch Association (WCTA) teams sidestepped their opponents to the gold medals at the South African Touch Association (SATA) Junior Interprovincial Touch Tournament in Green Point last month.

The Boys’ U19, Girls’ U19, Boys’

U15A and Boys’ U15B were crowned champions in their respective divisions. The Boys’ U17 and U15C teams walked home with silver medals.

However, all the respective finals went down to the wire.

They also bagged individual awards after Donelle Snyders walked away with the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and was the highest try scorer in the Girls’ U19 category. Ishmaeel Safodien won the MVP award in the Boys’ U19 section, while Dwayne Minnies bagged the MVP award and was the highest try scorer in the Boys’ U15 category.

Head coach Labeeb Levy said: “We went into the tournament with clear goals of developing our player base.

The hard work we put into our teams, thankfully, paid dividends. Each player played for something bigger than themselves and realised the game is always bigger than the individual,” he said.

Western Cape Touch Association general manager Nadeema Levy said: “It came as a surprise to us, given we had over 90% new players and 12 new coaches. We are proud of the hard work put in by every squad member, coach and manager. We were written off by the general public going into the tournament, but somehow, the magic of the Islander pulled us through.Our squad had a great team spirit, and each one looked out for each other. There is something about our Islander spirit and energy which we cannot describe – you have to feel it,” added Levy.

Levy said the way forward is to continue building and consolidate.

“We have lots of work ahead of us. Things may not always go our way but that is sports – the sport must always be the winner. We will continue with our development and make sure we provide opportunities for all,” she said.

PICTURE: NEIL KYNOCH The Western Cape Touch Association Girls’ U19 team won the South African Touch Association Junior Interprovincial Touch Tournament.