SEDGEFIELD NEWS - On 26 November, history was made in the SWD Rugby Union. Benjamin (Ben) Brinkhuis was elected the Union's president, marking the first time that a member of the Sedgefield Eagle Stars is elected to the position.
The election took place during the SWD Rugby Union's 29th annual general meeting, held at the George Municipality Conference Hall on Saturday 26 November.
Brinkhuis had been serving as the acting president of the union since 24 May, when former SWD president Hennie Baartman was elected as an executive committee member of the South African Rugby Union.
Prior to this, he had served the union as deputy president for 12 years, having been elected to the position in 2010.
The votes
At the meeting there was a total of 68 members of the union who were eligible to vote, and according to the union's constitution, for someone to be elected as president they must earn 50% of the eligible votes plus one.
This meant that if he wanted to serve as the president of the union for the next four years, Brinkhuis needed to obtain 35 votes. It was between Brinkhuis and one other candidate – Kevin van Wyk.
Brinkhuis not only reached this target, but shattered the ceiling. He received 49 votes to Van Wyk's 16 with three abstained votes.
An honour
In his acceptance speech, Brinkhuis thanked all for their support, especially his family. He also thanked Van Wyk for his sportsmanship and stated that he aims to be a servant to all the clubs in the SWD Rugby Union. He said he was extremely honoured to be elected.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think that, when I helped found Sedgefield Eagle Stars, I would one day become the president of SWD Rugby," said Brinkhuis.
"Only about two years ago did it start becoming something that I really strove for. Given my background as a farm child from Sedgefield, this really is incredible and I am very honoured."
Brinkhuis saw his election as a victory. "This is a victory not only for Eagle Stars, not only for Sedgefield, but for the whole of the greater Knysna community," he said proudly.
The club's chairperson, Renwill Hardnick, was very happy about the outcome of the election. "Sedgefield Pick n Pay Eagle Stars are very proud of the achievements reached by Mr Brinkhuis and have assured him that he has the club's undying support," he said.
Where it started
Brinkhuis is no stranger to making history. He grew up in the Swartvlei area before he and his family were relocated to Sedgefield in the late 1970s. There his rugby growth became a bit stunted, as there were only soccer teams in Smutsville and Sedgefield at the time. As someone with a deep and passionate love for rugby, Brinkhuis knew he had to do something.
"Even after spending time playing soccer, I could not let go of my love for rugby; it never went away," he said.
He also recalled his first rugby memory of being next to the rugby field as a child, watching his father, the late Johannes Brinkhuis, who sadly passed away on 7 November 2020 at age 96, and thus wasn't present to witness his only son's latest achievement.
"At his victory parade on 26 November, which started at the Old USAVE building in Smutsville, Mr Brinkhuis requested that the first stop must be at his father's house, where he lived for many years," Hardnick said. "Mr Brinkhuis remains a proud member of Sedgefield Pick n Pay Eagle Stars Rugby Football Club."
Eagle Stars' rise
His passion, love and desire led Brinkhuis and a group of young men from Sedgefield to form the Sedgefield Eagle Stars in 1989. This breathed new life into Brinkhuis' dream of again playing rugby recreationally, and he now had a means through which he could live out his love for the sport.
A club with humble beginnings and not a whole lot to go by in terms of infrastructure, the Sedgefield Eagle Stars became the first club from Sedgefield to be promoted to the SWD Premier League in 2019, when they won the SWD President's League. Sadly, due to Covid-19 the league did not take place until 2022, when it was renamed the SWD Super League A.
Here, Eagle Stars had a tough time. Despite fighting hard, they could not avoid finishing last in the league and have thus been relegated to the SWD Super League for the 2023 season.
"Sadly the club has been relegated yes, but we have come so far from where we started and we look forward to what lies in wait for the Eagle Stars," said Brinkhuis.
'We bring you the latest Sedgefield, Garden Route news'
