As many people celebrated the start of the New Year, Humansdorp United Rugby Club received the devastating news that their clubhouse, which is located at Swallows Rugby Field, had been vandalised and set alight on January 4.
Elroy Augustus, president of the club, said they have been using the rugby field for over 50 years, and in 2001 used their own funding to build a much-needed clubhouse for the players.
He said since the rugby club does not play any games during the month of December, they stored all their equipment at their clubhouse and locked the building.
On January 4, they were notified of a fire at the building and when they arrived on-site, they discovered their equipment had been stolen and the building vandalised.
Augustus said that the only piece of equipment left behind was the large scrum machine.
“Since the clubhouse was built more than 20 years ago we have never experienced such destruction to our premises,” said Augustus.
“I am really despondent because we have nothing to start our season with, and in these tough economic times it is difficult to start over.”
Augustus said that the fire had burnt the trusses and sheeting on the roof and they would therefore have to replace the entire roof. In addition, the fence was cut, and the poles were broken off, which has made it easy for livestock to graze the field and for people to walk across it.
Augustus further said that since they do not have a fence, they will no longer be able to charge a gate fee when playing on their home ground.
“It is not good when there is no fence, or no type of security measure at our field, because it can be dangerous for our players to play on the field if hazardous material is left behind,” said Augustus.
He said that the toilets have also been vandalised and the water pipes were stolen.
Augustus said that they, as a club, had opened a case of burglary and arson at the Humansdorp Police Station on January 4.
He said that the players were angry about the incident but have continued to remain positive in the face of this setback, and were able to win their first game of the season on January 28 in Loerie.
“The players have changed this negative experience to a positive one while on the field. This positive attitude has led to them winning their first game of the season which shows that they are in a good space,” said Augustus.
As the Kouga Rugby Sub-Union Regional Champions for 2022, he said that the team believes that they would reach great success.
Augustus said that it was important for them to have a clubhouse for their players and visitors.
“We want to create a good environment for our players and for rugby clubs visiting our field and it is therefore necessary for us to have a clubhouse where they can prepare for games and shower after each game,” said Augustus.
To refurbish the clubhouse and to replace the fence, he said that they are requesting any donation from individuals and businesses.
Augustus said that since the field is owned by the Kouga Municipality he is hoping that they will consider contributing to its refurbishment.
Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks said that the municipality is currently experiencing a high-volume of incidences of theft and vandalism of municipal infrastructure, which has negative consequences on the ability of the municipality to provide sustainable and continuous services to the communities of Kouga.
He said that they therefore needed serious interventions, and buy-in from the communities to take ownership of their areas.
Hendricks said that the Swallows Rugby Field had been upgraded before, and vandalised immediately after the repairs.
“Vandalism is currently a huge problem in most areas, especially around the Kouga facilities,” said Hendricks.
He said that the replacement cost of the infrastructure is currently estimated to be millions of rands which needs to be funded from municipal coffers – which had not been budgeted for.
“The restoration of the rugby field is currently not in this financial year, but application for rehabilitation for this sports field has been submitted. We are waiting for the outcomes,” said Hendricks.
He said that the municipality would continue to maintain the facility with the grass cutting programme, and they would continue to seek awareness programmes for communities to start taking ownership of facilities and safeguard against vandalism.
- For more information contact Elroy Augustus on 073 906 9250.
