Joubert: 'Club Champs a huge challenge'
FNB Pukke head coach Rudy Joubert would like his team to chase history at the SAA National Club Championships when the tournament gets underway at Tukkies on Sunday.
Having won the National Club title three times (in 2004, 2006 and 2008), Joubert is hoping that the North West University's 'Class of 2009' can become the first-ever Pukke side to successfully defend its title.
A win at the National Club Champs would also be the cherry on the top for Joubert, his coaching staff and players this year; with Pukke having had a very successful 2009 season to date.
Aside from qualifying for the 2009 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International Final (where they went down narrowly to Maties), Pukke also claimed the Pirates Grand Challenge trophy last weekend - their seventh title in eight years.
"Yes, it's been a good season so far," Joubert told varsitycup.co.za.
"Losing in the Varsity Cup Final was obviously a bitter disappointment for us, but that aside we can be happy with what we've achieved thus far."
Joubert was also understandably pleased with Saturday's 42-26 win over the University of Johannesburg in the Pirates Grand Challenge Final.
"We started the match badly," he admitted. "We conceded an intercept try in the first minute and we had a player sin-binned in the fifth minute; we quickly found ourselves 10-0 down.
"The guys did very well to remain composed and fight back like they did, but I was particularly happy with our try count. We scored six tries in the semifinals (against Impala) and we scored six in the final - our ability to score tries is there and it's something we've worked very hard at."
And, looking ahead to the National Club Championships, Joubert added: "We're all very excited about the tournament and the prospect of ending the season on a high, but it won't be easy.
"We have a few injuries in the squad, so our depth will be tested. Thankfully we have a very good squad, but a guy like (prop) Jaco Koch has a serious neck injury and he will be missed.
"(Flank) Savvas Nel is touch and go at this stage and Willem Barnard is definitely out, but we could have (Leopards flyhalf) Cecil Dumond back from Currie Cup duty which would be a huge boost for us (in the inside backs division)."
Pukke and FNB Shimlas are the only two Varsity Cup representatives at the Club Champs and Joubert believes all the so-called 'open' clubs will be gunning for them.
"You can see the amount of time and money that the likes of Pirates and Hamilton's have put into their local leagues simply just to get a chance to play at the Club Champs," said Joubert, the Springbok assistant coach to Rudolf Straeuli at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
"Teams like that are very serious about winning and they won't be making it easy for anybody out there - whether you're the defending champions, a Varsity Cup team or just another team competing at the Club Champs.
"If all goes well (and we make the final) we could play four games in a week, which makes for a tough seven days; that, to me, is what makes the Club Champs so tough and such a huge challenge.
"I think Shimlas, Pirates and Hamilton's will be the obvious teams to watch out for, but there's always a dark-horse at a tournament like this, so you cannot afford to underestimate anybody, really."
NWU-Pukke will begin the defence of their SAA National Club Championships title against invited Limpopo side, Noordelikes, at Tukkies' LC de Villiers sports grounds on Sunday, September 20.
Round One draw for the 2009 Club Champs:
(Seedings and Provinces in brackets.)
Pukke (1 - Leopards) v Noordelikes (16 - SARU invited team)
College Rovers (2 - KZN) v Impala (15 - SARU invited team)
Hamilton's (3 - WP) v Kuruman (14 - Griqualand West)
Springs (4 - Falcons) v Welkom Rovers (13 - Griffons)
Pretoria Police (5 - Blue Bulls) v Buffalo (12 - Border)
Pirates (6 - Golden Lions) v Middelburg (11 - Mpumalanga)
Shimlas (7 - Free State) v Park (10 - EP)
Rawsonville (8 - Boland) v Great Brakriver (9 - SWD)