I WOULD like to respond to the article on the front page of the Paarl Post regarding the match between Vineyards and Blues as well as the letter by Granville Fortuin in last week’s edition.
As a Vineyards player and the one who was in the middle of it all, I think I am more suited to say what happened. Firstly, with three minutes on the clock (as per referee), Vineyards scored with 14 men to win the game. It was a push over try - as two certain tries were disallowed earlier, we decided to keep it simple.
Every backline move was blown up as obstruction or off-side.
Leading by 4 points, we were awarded a scrum. I then took over the captaincy and asked the ref how much time was left.
He clearly said last scrum and the Blues team admitted after that game they had heard him say that and some had the decency to apologise and say that they did not win that game.
Anyway, I instructed our fly-half to kick out, which he did, game over! No way... The Ref allows a line-out, and gives free kick. Play continues, another line-out and then a free kick and Blues dive over to win 5 minutes after the whistle should have gone.
Now I have all this on video, from the point of where he says last scrum and I turn and shout to my team “last scrum”!
I was fuming at the ref. At that moment in the last line of defence I desperately tried to tackle the player diving over with a high, late swinging arm or two that would have made Butch James proud. Surely a yellow card for my actions?
But no, before the ref gets there, a scuffle breaks loose, which happens on rugby fields, nothing serious. Then suddenly bottles come flying at us from Blues spectators chanting “maak die vark slamse vrek”.
One hits me in the eye (6 stitches) and another my brother on his head. He needed 9 stitches.
At that point there was nothing happening on the field, just a push and a shove as it was a clean game and even Blues players were glancing and pointing into the crowd to see who threw me with a bottle.
Next I saw a guy pointing at me with a bottle in his hand saying I am dead and he knows where I live. Wrong thing to say to me when I am in that frame of mind!
The video shows me running out of the field enclosures and taking my jersey off and my cousin Chops joining me. That is when all hell broke loose.
That is when I snapped! I charged the idiot that I presumed threw the bottle at me and all hell broke loose for an hour, only to stop due to poor light.
While this was all happening on the other side of the fence the final whistle blew. Mr Maawiyah Moerat, him I didn’t even see while the fight was on. Final verdict: Oscar for best med evil fight scene in Paarl for years - something from Braveheart.
The point I am trying to make, is that I am no angel and neither are certain Blues players, but this fight was NOT caused by an assault on a ref or ill disciplined players from Blues or Vineyards. A scuffle between players on the field is normal. That I can take.
But a bottle in the eye or the head while you are in the playing field, while the game is still on? That and the blatantly biased refereeing towards Vineyards caused the fight.
I would like to quote the chairman of a super league club in Cape Town that has no ties to any of these clubs and watched the game, who wished to remain anonymous and had this to say: ‘The rot actually set in five minutes into the game when the linesman pointed out foul play and the number 12 Adlee Moerat (formerly of Collegians now Vineyards) was punished incorrectly.
From there it was downhill for Vineyards with regards to penalties.
‘What could have been a great spectacular game turned into a farce, as it became obvious the ref was blowing for the stand on the “Blue side”.
‘On the field it was ferocious, with in your face type of rugby, hard tackling, with high intensity levels which would have been the envy of a lot of teams in Super League A & B. It should have been a great game, what with the refereeing...’
Blues and Vineyards are both good teams, neither is guilty. The bottle throwers are guilty, as they started it and so am I, for being brave (stupid) enough to charge them outside the playing fencing, alone.
Please can this be the final comments on this. Blues won on paper. It is done, season goes on. Rugby in Paarl is healthy. Good luck to both teams.
Thaamir Moerat
