La Motte Rugby Football Club have successfully challenged the Western Province Rugby Football Union's decision to prevent them from affiliating to the Boland Rugby Union (BRU).
On Tuesday, 6 May, the High Court in Cape Town confirmed La Motte RFC as a full member of the Boland Rugby Union, in line with the decision taken at the union's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 30 November 2024.
The ruling follows the High Court’s judgment in favour of La Motte RFC’s urgent application, which sought to compel the Boland Rugby Union to uphold its own AGM decision to accept the club as a member after the WPRFU claimed that La Motte should compete within its structures.
La Motte, a community-based club from Franschhoek, is one of the three clubs that sought to affiliate with Boland. The other clubs are Cloetesville Rugby in Stellenbosch and the Paarl club.
In November 2024, La Motte and Cloetesville applied for full affiliation with the Boland Rugby Union.
Boland Rugby Union accepted both clubs at their AGM in November 2024, with both being nvited as a full members during the members’ meeting in February.
The WPRFU, however, opposed the clubs' affiliation with Boland, citing geographical boundaries.
We are looking forward to playing with - and against - our neighbouring teams, Wemmershoek RFC and Dennegeur RFC, who are already competing in the Boland Rugby Union competitions.
We feel vindicated by the court’s decision and deeply relieved that justice has prevailed. The fighting should stop now, and community sports should be prioritised. Our players can now return home.
The management of the club would like to thank our families for their unwavering support and, more specifically, our legal team, attorney Pamala Mbabane and advocate Chris Kilowan - for their commitment and belief in the merits of our case from day one.
Our appreciation is also extended to our community broadcaster, KC 107.7, and Dr Harlan Cloete for sharing our struggle with the world and ensuring that the plight of the La Motte community was amplified.
La Motte's membership with Boland will remain in effect unless a court decides otherwise. This means that La Motte RFC must now be included in the BRU’s Community Shield competition.
