London South Africa blast their way to promotion

28 April 2007

By Sharlene Jobson

LSA has been promoted into the London & South-East Division, following their 71-10 victory over Ellingham & Ringwood on Saturday. The promotion marks the end of highly successful season in Surrey Division One. Under the skilful direction of head coach Bob Crooks, the second half of the season saw a dramatic improvement in the clubs fortunes as they became the top-scoring side. From a team of talented individuals, LSA has transformed into a strongly cohesive unit that plays with an intensity and confidence that allows them to dominate their opposition in almost all aspects of the game. They are clearly ready for the higher leagues of English rugby.

Reflecting on the day’s outcome, UK director, Justin Paige, said, “we have to appreciate the full scale of our achievement today. The club has only been playing competitive rugby for 18 months, and we’ve now secured our second consecutive promotion. It is a testament to the commitment of our players, volunteers and staff that we have been able to come this far so fast”.

To mark the end of the season, the club and its supporters celebrated with a spit braai at Zulu’s bar in Putney, were an award ceremony was held. The award for Shield team player of the year was shared by Nigel Bain and Grant Bez; most valuable back was Malcolm Mirfin; most valuable forward Anton Kriel; and clubman of the year was Matt Fendick.

The entry into the London Division also marks another important milestone towards LSA’s long-term goal of reaching the Premiership - an ambitious plan that places tremendous pressure on the club to win promotion every year. According to Paige, “we are already planning for next season in the London Division and the objectives and goals we set ourselves will be no less tough. We will be heavily focused on expanding the club and will as always look to welcome any players and volunteers who are interested in joining us on to help LSA make 2007/8 yet another successful season”.

Surrey XV:

Gerrie Kruger, Werner Swanepoel, Clint Dearmer, Justin Rose, Christian van Rooyen, Jake Hoddinot, Tiaan Visser, Anton Kriel, Vaughan Gilson, Matt Fendick, Gary Johnston, Nick Osman, Dave Blackburn, Dave Kelly, Malcolm Mirfin, Aldo Du Plessis, Andre Retief, Louis Van Zyl and Trevor Grundelingh