Tony Stoops Festival
THE TONY STOOPS RUGBY FESTIVAL : A REVIEW OF 2012 AND PREVIEW OF 2013
The TSRF 2012, the fifth edition, featuring 42 1st XVs, took place at HS President’s fields between 24 and 28 March.
Needless to say, with some 58 games, it would take too long to give more than a brief overview of some of the highlights.
Noord-Kaap’s 33-13 win over Tygerberg was a fitting flagship game on the Saturday, Henk Brand’s lads thrilling everyone with their high-powered approach.  Unfortunately things didn’t improve for the Tygers on the Monday as they were dumped 21-17 by tiny Dirkie Uys of Moorreesburg, whose nickname is ironically, you guessed it, the Tigers !
Hugenote went unbeaten through the festival, with fine wins against Pearson 24-7, Port Natal 35-14 and Despatch 36-7, but the trophy for the most enterprising rugby went to the Boland Tigers.
Although Piketberg whacked Westering 58-15 on the pre-planned first day and New Orleans dumped Scottsdene 59-0 on the final day, the organizers’ pairings seemed to be pretty accurate.
TSRF 2013 takes place at HS Tygerberg from 28 March to 1 April and will showcase 34 teams.  The slight drop in numbers can be attributed to rising fuel prices as well as the coincidence of the festival with all the traditional Easter events countrywide.
Dollar Academy of Scotland will be adding an international flavour when they take part on the second and third days.  They will rub shoulders with 14 Boland sides, ten WP teams, six from the Eastern Province and three SWD outfits.
The man behind the week, Stokkies Truter, happily notes that most of the newcomers invite themselves these days.  Even though the teams might not be drawn from the top echelons locally, potential spectators can rest assured that the quality of play never fails to thrill.
Written by Tony Stoops – Visit his website: Stoopstats