Empangeni club left in the dark
'An amount of R400 000 is required to restore the lighting system and get it back to where it was before the theft,' said Empangeni Rugby Football Club President Clive Kelly
THE Empangeni Rugby Football Club is still left in the dark after cable theft and vandalism of the electrical boxes supplying power to the main field’s floodlights in December, remain unattended.
This has already affected Stewart Shield rugby matches scheduled at Mick Kelly Park for both the Empangeni and Unizulu teams.
League matches are played on Friday evenings, but owing to the problem all home games had to be moved to Saturday afternoons in the interim.
‘An amount of R400 000 is required to restore the lighting system and get it back to where it was before the theft,’ said Empangeni Rugby Football Club President Clive Kelly.
‘But the insurance company is raising highly technical issues relating to the interpretation of the policy document, which is hindering our brokers’ progress to solving this issue.
‘We do not have a date when the lights will be restored.’
In the meantime, weekly practices are also being affected.
Empangeni head coach Kobus Wernich told the ZO that practices run from 6pm to 7.15pm.
‘I have had to become very creative with my sessions to accommodate the 30 players to train adequately enough ahead of league games.
‘I use the field space closest to the clubhouse and pavillion where there is limited lighting emanating from the clubhouse, but this is obviously inadequate.
If the issue is not resolved soon, the annual events that bring in revenue for the club such as the popular McCarthy Toyota Empangeni Touch Rugby League will be forced to cancel, adding to the club’s financial woes.
‘I am aware of the severity of the issue and am trying my best to get it resolved as soon as possible.’
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