National Club Champs round-up
Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:25
Brakpan, Welkom and Kimberley Police booked their places at this year's National Club Championships after the three sides recorded nailbiting wins in their respective provincial deciders last weekend.
The newly crowned Valke, Griffons and Griquas champions will join title-holders Maties (WP), 2006 champions Pukke (Leopards), 2006 finalists College Rovers (KZN), and Roses United (Boland) at the 34th Club Championships, to be held in Stellenbosch in September.
The remaining seven slots reserved for provincial champions are still up for grabs, with the Blue Bulls, Golden Lions, Eastern Province, SWD, Border and Mpumalanga leagues all heading down to the wire. The Free State Stadsbeker semifinals are scheduled for July 26.
In a dramatic Valke qualifier played at the Bosman Stadium, home side Brakpan beat champions Springs 35-33 in extra-time after the two sides were deadlocked at 30-30 after 80 minutes. Brakpan scored five unanswered tries, while Springs flyhalf Ashley Buchler kept his team in the hunt with an incredible 10 penalties and a drop goal.
The Valke Super League resumes on Saturday with four matches: Boksburg v Kempton Park, Vaal v Vereeniging, Benoni v Brakpan, and Springs v East Rand Police.
Police retained their Griqualand West title when they beat Upington 33-28 at Absa Park in Kimberley. The Griquas President's League starts this weekend, with Oranje hosting Namaqualand, and Logan at home to Pixley Ka Seme. The final takes place on September 13.
Welkom defended their Griffons title with a 32-25 victory over Rovers at the North West Stadium in Welkom. The champions saved their best for last after finishing third in the First Division league. They however demolished runners-up Harmony 56-22 in the semis before edging out their fierce rivals in the match that mattered.
College Rovers, who easily notched up their third straight KZN Premier Division title, finally surrendered their unbeaten record when they lost 31-17 to Old Boys in their final league match of the season, played at Kings Park. With the Moor Cup safely locked away for another year, Rovers will turn their attention to the Murray Cup knockout competition, which kicks off next Friday.
In other KZN matches, Crusaders crushed Jaguars 39-22, Durban Collegians whipped Harlequins 54-3, and Zululand Rhinos beat Maritzburg Varsity 26-10. Collegians host Varsity at Kings Park on Saturday in the final league match of the season. Kick-off is at 15.30.
Excitement is mounting in the Western Province Super League A, with only two points separating champions Maties, Hamiltons and SK Walmers. The students, who scored a full house of 45 points in the first round, have a game in hand over Hammies and two against Walmers, who beat Durbanville-Bellville 24-15 last Saturday.
The three-way relegation battle intensified when bottom-of-the-log NNK lost 79-15 to Hamiltons, and Tygerberg edged out Helderberg 28-27. The team finishing 10th is automatically relegated. Saturday's fixtures (16.00): Helderberg v UCT, Tygerberg v SK Walmers, Villagers v NNK.
Roses United maintained their commanding lead in the Boland Premier League when they beat Black Leaves 29-22 last Saturday. In other results, Villagers Worcester beat struggling champions Rawsonville 19-3, Wesbank edged out Delicious 20-18, and Abbotsdale outscored Ceres 62-47. Wellington v Villagers Montagu was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. There are no Premier League matches this weekend.
The second stage of the Blue Bulls' Carlton League has reached halfway with university teams Tukkies and TUT dominating Section X and Section Y respectively. Neither is in action this weekend, however, as Centurion play Eersterust, Harlequins face Silver Valke, Police meet Brits, and Pretoria come up against Naka Bulle.
The final round of the Golden Lions' Pirates Grand Challenge takes place on Friday and Saturday. Leading Pool A are champions UJ, with 46 points from 10 matches. Second-placed Pirates are 10 points adrift after losing valuable ground in going down 22-19 to Pool B leaders Pukke. In other matches, Impalas hammered Germiston Simmer 72-5, Wanderers beat Soweto 30-18, while both Randfontein and Diggers had walkovers, against Inquina and Edenpark respectively.
This weekend's fixtures: Alberton v Union, Edenvale v Germiston, Jeppe v Police, Pirates v Raiders, Randfontein v Harlequins, Roodepoort v Pukke, Wanderers v Inquina, Wits v Impala, Edenpark v Soweto and Eldoronians v Diggers.
With four rounds to go in the SWD Premier League, 2006 champions Bridgton have opened up a 13-point lead after wins over George and Heidelberg. Second-placed Barbarians have a game in hand after their match against Swellendam was postponed, while champions Evergreens now trail Bridgton by 22 points after losing 16-13 to George. In other matches, Grootbrakrivier beat Progress 10-8 while Crusaders won 16-9 against Blanco.
Saturday's fixtures: Heidelberg v Evergreens, Blanco v Barbarians, Grootbrak v Swellendam, Bridgton v Progress and George v Crusaders.
There's still nothing to choose between Despatch and Gardens in the Eastern Province Grand Challenge, with the two-time national champions hanging on to a one-point lead over the Uitenhage side with five rounds remaining. The sides were scheduled to play each other on Saturday, but the match was postponed as both teams have a number of players on provincial amateur duty.
Despatch beat champions SAPS 22-12 on Saturday while Gardens edged out Spring Rose 20-12. In other games, Harlequins beat Suburban 16-8, third-placed Park demolished Crusaders 76-0, Brumbies surprised fourth-placed Progress 32-18, and newcomers Kruisfontein shocked NMMUU 15-12.
Saturday's fixtures (15.30): Harlequins v Park, Crusaders v Brumbies, and NMMU v Spring Rose.
Champions Buffalo, who are still on course to defend their Border Premier League title, travel to Swallows on Saturday in one of four Super 8 matches. Other fixtures: Cambridge v Police, Fort Hare v Old Selbornian, Evergreen v Winter Rose. Kick-offs will be at 15.30.
In the Leopards' Neser A league, Kia Klerksdorp lead Potch Dorp by one point after a 42-7 win over Stilfontein Hurricanes last Saturday. Potch, who have a game in hand, beat Tau Lekoa 30-18 to set up an intriguing final three rounds. Saturday's matches see Vaal Reefs take on West Wits, Potch host Stilfontein, and Tau Lekoa play Lichtenburg. Kick-offs will be at 15.00.
With three rounds to go, the Mpumalanga Super League remains a five-horse race between champions Middelburg and Kriel, Ermelo, Witbank and Sasol. There are two matches on Saturday afternoon, Ermelo hosting Kriel and Witbank away to Sasol.
