Advertisement

Perhaps this time, Brent and Griquas can finally dream

rugby07 August 2019 10:02| © SuperSport
By:Brenden Nel
Share
article image
Griquas © Gallo Images

Tafel Lager Griqualand West sit on top of the Currie Cup log this week, and the realisation is slowly filtering in for the side that they just might dare to dream of future glory if they can continue the form they have produced.

It is no secret that their coach Brent Janse van Rensburg is one of the highly-rated rising stars in South African rugby, and their big win at Loftus Versfeld last week over the Vodacom Blue Bulls underlined this fact.

But not even Janse van Rensburg would have predicted his side would have had the scalps of the Sharks and Bulls and with three rounds to go, a little past the halfway mark of the shortened competition, his side would be on top of the Currie Cup log.

In fact, few would have predicted the upsets the side have picked up, and Janse van Rensburg is a big part of that success. After winning the SuperSport Challenge with two different sides, the former Kings coach is slowly rebuilding the Kimberley union into a formidable franchise that hopefully will be able to move into Pro14 at some point.

“This is a big rebuild at Griquas, there have been a lot of changes and a lot of new staff. So far in the first year of the rebuild, there has been quite a lot of success. We have had a huge improvement all round, not just on the field, but off the field as well – how the guys prepare for the game and how the drivers get involved in the operation,” Janse van Rensburg explains.

“So that’s good. The environment is pretty healthy, the guys are chasing standards and want to get better every week. There is a good togetherness in the squad, the guys really care for each other and everybody goes ahead in their pursuits to do well for each other.

“That is important – game plans and other stuff is one thing, but you have to get the best out of the players, we have the right gees and we are certainly playing for the right reasons.”

And now with two games left in their regular season competition, it is slowly dawning to the SA Rugby public that Griquas are a force, and not just a difficult side that falls away when the competition gets to the business rounds. The team are playing some exceptional rugby and, apart from their hiccup against the Cheetahs, have certainly set the pace in the competition this season.

DREAMING OF THE PLAYOFFS

Now what the team needs is the self-belief to go a step further and get into the playoffs, and from there dream of glory. The last time that Griquas lifted the Currie Cup trophy was way back in 1972, and while it is too early to believe they will break that drought, they certainly have impressed with the way they played this season.

“I certainly do believe we have the potential to get to a playoff. Everyone has that belief within the group and it is certainly something we would like to achieve. But we also appreciate completely in a short competition like this things can change pretty dramatically,” Janse van Rensburg brings a reality check.

“We are still far away from it, and we still have two games to play and if you earn the right to get yourself into the playoffs, you also want to go into the playoffs with a bit of momentum with some quality rugby being played en route to get there.

“So its not just getting the points but how we get there. We need to enjoy this win (over the Bulls), take the energy out of it and let the energy take us forward again. But certainly we saw against the Cheetahs, if you are mentally not invested and you don’t pitch up on the day, then you get a little ahead of yourself and you start worrying about other stuff.

“We saw the damage that that one did and we learnt the lesson the hard way in that game. At least we came out and made up for it against the Bulls. In the Currie Cup there are a lot of talent in all the teams that are being put out there, and everyone wants to knock everyone out. We just have to be up for the fight and execute. I think we need to stick to a week to week battle and worry about the rest later, if we get there.”

COACHING AMBITIONS

In any other system Janse van Rensburg would already have been an assistant coach for a Super Rugby franchise, but he has quietly carried on coaching, achieving success wherever he has gone and simply done his job. Like all coaches he has ambitions, but knows that he will have to wait for the right opportunity to come along. For now, making Griquas a powerhouse again is all he is focusing on.

“I wouldn’t put it down to any one reason. Rugby worldwide is tough to move up and there are limited opportunities. It is just part of the game. Abroad it is the same, and there are only so many positions available.

“Obviously one hopes that as you go along, people see potential and give you the opportunity to grow and participate at a higher level of rugby. Hopefully the game rewards that at some point. For me though it is just to focus on doing the best I can for me and the players at Griquas. We are responsible for a lot of lives, the players have wives and kids and the union has aspirations. We are quiet an ambitious union at Griquas and my focus is just to do the union justice and this group of players justice. I am trying to get the players to be the best players they can be on the field and to be good people off the field. That is our focus now, what happens from that – what will be will be.”

KIMBERLEY MORE THAN A BIG HOLE

While many may scoff at living in an outpost like Kimberley, Janse van Rensburg and his family have embraced it, and found that Kimberley embraced them back. The coach may have been apprehensive at the opportunity to coach in the northern Cape, but now that he is there, he has seen a different side of the city that he wants others to experience.

“I love Kimberley, there are incredibly good people and it is a good community. A few years back I coached the Kings and other teams and we went into Kimberley – you come in and you leave. You don’t really play there and get an opportunity to really connect, to go to the farms and the outskirts. You don’t really have a feel of the community and the people.

“I was of the mindset of ‘would you go there’. But it is probably one of the nicest places I’ve coached. The board is a rugby board and the CEO is a guy who coached for many years. They know what a coach goes through and knows what it takes to turn a union around. As a result I’m empowered to do my job, I am left alone to do my job and there is a good relationship between the management and board members.

“The community cares about the players and staff. When you go and buy meat, for instance, they just want to help.

“It is a good quality of life, we don’t have problems with time, traffic and other things. It’s a chip and a putt and you are in a game reserve. I’ve enjoyed it and we are a close knit team and it is a really happy place to go to work really. You go to work because you want to go to work.”

PRO14 DREAMS

With talk of joining the Pro14 competition still in the air, there is nothing more that Janse van Rensburg wants than to stake a claim for the competition with a strong showing on the field. And at the moment that is all his team can do. While the decision-makers discuss the viability of what happens with South Africa’s other two franchises, Griquas can only do their talking on the field.

“I think any game that we play is important to do well. You are marketing the union’s brand. The only thing we can do now is to look to do well in the competition and leave the decision-makers to make their decisions.

“I think all-round where rugby is now, performance on the field is key. We want to do well in this Currie Cup but hopefully that reminds everyone out there that Griquas is a team that has serviced players to many teams over the years. An example is Kyle Steyn, who was in our ranks and now has a Scotland cap. Griquas produces these players year after year.

“it would be nice if Griquas could get a Pro14 spot, it will give the union a bit of stability and an opportunity to compete against bigger budgets. We are competing against teams with so much more in terms of player budgets and staff. This past week we are a coaching team of two, while the Bulls had five coaches. We are up against it, but every year teams like Griquas perform and add something to SA rugby.

“It would be nice to get a chance in a bigger competition and then to keep our players and provide a better service and offer more resources. We certainly have proved over the years that teams like Griquas punch above their weight every year. It would be nice to be rewarded for that, but we need to well in the Currie Cup and see what happens.”

Either way, on the evidence we have seen of Janse van Rensburg and Griquas this year, and his previous successes on the rugby field, no team can afford to write off the Peacock Blues this season.

As the Bulls found out to their peril last weekend.

Advertisement