As the year comes to an end, we look back at some of the sports stories we shared on our pages this year.
False Bay RFC rounded off a stellar year in the Super League A (SLA) when they were crowned champions.
“Winning it again is super special,” said coach Johnno van der Walt. “Some clubs never get a chance to make a play-off let alone win the competition.”
“2016 with the single round format had a different kind of pressure where every game was a must win game and every game felt like a final,” he said in reference to False Bay’s previous SLA victory.
“We lost to Durbell in the 2018 semi-final after a very good season and then we lost to Maties in the 2019 semi-final after another decent season. So when there was no league in 2020 and 2021 we could not redeem ourselves from that 2019 exit in the play-offs. Fast forward two Covid years and we are back with a bang,” said Van der Walt.
Still with rugby, Capetonians had an opportunity to watch the young upcoming stars in one of the premier rugby competitions in the world when Rondebosch hosted this year’s Craven Week.
Wynberg Boys’ was well represented during the games with three players making the WP team.
Our flag flew high at the IMMAF Youth World Championships in Dubai when a South African took the gold medal for the first time in the history of the event.
Grassy Park’s Nuha Shah, 14, a mixed martial artist, won her finals match via an armbar.
Her coach at the time, Eddie Lallo called the achievement a big deal in South Africa which would do wonders for South African mixed martial arts.
“Maybe she doesn’t understand it yet but eventually she will understand how big of a deal it is to get a gold medal at such a high level.
“Not only for her but for our communities and other girls, she has broken a lot of barriers,” said Lallo.
Cricket fans did not miss out on action as well as the introduction of the Cape Premier League offers amateur cricketers more opportunities to showcase their abilities.
The T20 format has in recent years proven to be a very exciting format for cricket fans and Capetonians have their own version of the famed IPL in CPL.
It is good news for upcoming cricketers as the format also gives them the opportunity to run shoulders with former international players.
