Menlo begin their about turn

No matter how bad this season has been for Menlopark, spare a though for their head coach Nico Luus because 2023 has been an absolute nightmare for the man as far as coaching is concerned.

Last year Nico took the reins at Menlo and was riding the wave of success as he claimed the Varsity Cup title with Tuks.

But this year Tuks somehow forgot the value of good recruitment and the rest is history. They got relegated! From the Varsity Cup! Yes mighty Tuks got relegated! Its still hard to believe this actually happened. Right now it’s not certain where Luus stands in terms of that Tuks head coaching job. It seems like his services are no longer required but he may still have a binding contract that has to be worked out one way or the other.

At Menlo, Luus may have been spared the blushes of a second relegation in one year. Menlo are fighting for their lives to stay in the SDC Noordvaal Cup in 2024. Here Luus seems to have been relieved of his 1^st XV head coaching duty. Again his ultimate fate is unknown at this stage.

Rugby is suffering but it is not all bad at Menlopark. More the exact opposite. They are as good an academic school as you can hope to find in SA. Good academics definitely means good education on offer but often also translates to good leadership, good teachers, good discipline and therefore good character in the school. It’s generally a fundamental for success on the sports field as well. And there are sports at Menlo that are thriving. Netball and athletics being two that are excellent.

It’s just that when it comes to rugby, the Parkies now face an uphill battle to stay in the nine-school Co-ed premier league. Morale is already low in Relegation will be a total disaster. They are located too close to some big schools with good rugby opportunities for comfort. Always known for their good under-14 rugby intakes, keeping up that appearance as a B-league school, will take a lot of work.

For now top coach Jaco Dames, who made a name for himself at Diamantveld, has been appointed to help steady the ship. He will work alongside Dirk Odendaal, who always comes across as being 110% committed to the Menlo cause.

Even though a huge task lies ahead in 2023, Menlopark look like they have take a step in the right direction in their efforts to get their rugby boys to start enjoying their rugby journeys once again.

The challenge is that promotion/staying up in the SDC Noordvaal Cup is  just as much about depth as it is about A-team performance. Menlo’s two biggest rivals in the relegation battle appear to be Marais Viljoen and Nelspruit.  When it comes to 3rd XV, u15C and u14C rugby*, Menlo are scoring zero points because they cannot field teams while Nellies have scored 22 points (30%) of their overall score  through these three teams with a game in hand on Menlo and MV have 8 points from the same three sides but have two game in hand on Menlo.

The only comfort is that Menlo has both Nelspuit and Marais Viljoen coming up on successive weekends in the third term, so hope floats that they can make the most of both rugby interschools days to record more valuable wins than losses.

As things stand on the overall table:

SCHOOL	PLAYED	POINTS
Nelspruit	4	74
Menlopark	5	60
Marais Viljoen	3	43

* There does not appear to be an u16C in the SDC Noordvaal Cup