Northernz remaining upbeat
Steinhoff Northernz player-coach Beän van Eeden is positive that his side can get something out of this season when they play Steinhoff Mopanie in two weeks.
The Northernz stalwart is aware of the fact that his side has not started the season well but is hoping that the experience gained by his players will stand them in good stead going into the Steinhoff NMMU Koshuisrugby League.
"We are a very small team and I want these guys to experience how hard this tournament is compared to NMMU Koshuis rugby," Van Eeden said.
Van Eeden told varsitycup.co.za: "We have a couple of young guys and only four of us played in the 2012 tournament and there a couple of guys that are playing above their weight."
This is in comparison the Steinhoff Medies side that has a majority of their squad back from last years championship.
In their first fixture the Northernz gave Medies a serious run for their money and if it was not for a couple of late tries to the Stellenbosch side the scoreline could have looked a lot different.
"In the first game there was a lack of focus as we conceeded two tries near the end and the guys just switched off.
"It was down to a lack of experience as well as fitness," the coach added.
In the second game Van Eeden felt that his side played much better although they went down to Steinhoff Villagers from NWU-Pukke 24-5.
"In the first game the guys didn't know what to expect but we played much better in the second game even though we lost quite badly."
As with most Koshuis teams it is quite difficult for Northernz to get eveyone together regularly considering the majority of the side are not based on campus.
"In our koshuis side we only have three guys that live on campus, most of the team are day students."
The Northernz start their Koshuis league next week and will be hoping that that game will be the perfect preparation for their match against Mopanie the following Monday.
"On Tuesday we play our first internal Koshuis match so hopefully it will give us the opportunity to field our strongest side and get the motivation levels up and score some tries."
This is unchartered territory for both sides as they have never met each other before in the competition which means that Van Eeden does not know what to expect from the side from Pretoria.
"I have been playing since 2009 and this is the first time that we have been in the same pool as a Koshuis from Tuks."
He understands the level of rugby that is played at UP-Tuks and knows that his side is going to have their work cut out for them come Monday, March 18 in Port Elizabeth.
