Community Cup race heats up
Roodepoort and defending champions Despatch qualified for the Community Cup Easter play-offs on a drama-filled weekend of pool action.
Golden Lions champions Roodepoort came from behind to score 10 points in the final two minutes of their Pool B match against Rovers in Welkom to run out 37-31 victors and so book their place in the last eight of SARU's national championship for non-university clubs, which will take place at Outeniqua Park in George over the Easter long weekend, from 17-21 April.
And Despatch were too good for Mossel Bay Barbarians, flyhalf Monty Dumond scoring 16 points in his side's 31-5 win in front of 2,500 home fans on sweltering day at the WJ de Wet Stadium.
Further up the coast in East London, Old Selbornians announced themselves as Despatch's possible main rivals for Pool A honours, with a 43-7 win over SWD champions Bridgton. Bradley Birkholtz and Craig Gombert each scored a brace for the home side, with Craig Shone kicking 16 points.
The results mean that Old Boys' match in Mossel Bay this weekend against Barbarians will most likely decide which of the two join Despatch in George, with the SWD wild cards desperate to emulate their provincial counterparts Evergreens, who reached the top eight in 2013.
Another showdown looms in Pool B, where Roodepoort and College Rovers clash on Saturday in a match at Rand Leases that will decide who finishes top of Pool B.
Rovers, fielding six players who are just 20 years of age, scored 12 tries – three to veteran wing Dusty Noble – to run out 78-14 winners over Bloemfontein Crusaders at the Clive Solomon Stadium in Heidedal.
And in Pool C, a last-gasp penalty from centre Stanley Twiname gave Centurion a 26-all draw against unbeaten log leaders Roses United at Pelican Park in Wellington.
The result means that Roses, for whom No.8 Thurlow Marsh scored a hat-trick, are in pole position to qualify for George, leaving Centurion and Brakpan to fight it out for the second spot.
Adding spice to this permutation is that Centurion host Brakpan, who finished third last year, in the final round, while Roses must travel away to bottom-placed Noordelikes, who will want to finish on a high and who may yet upset the apple cart in terms of qualifying places.
Pool D looks set to be just as tight, with Hamiltons going top after a 41-12 win over Wesbank in front of 2,500 fans in Malmesbury, ahead of Rustenburg Impala on points difference.
The pool will only be decided on the final weekend, when Impala host Hamiltons in a keenly anticipated fixture in North West, but the miners will have to first travel to Malmesbury this coming Saturday, where they will likely face a Wesbank side who are able to welcome back a host of first-choice players unavailable for the Hamiltons clash.
All the scores and scorers:
Pool A:
Despatch 31-5 Mossel Bay Barbarians
Despatch:
Tries: De Doncker, Dumond, Erasmus, Deyzel
Cons: Dumond 4
Pen: Dumond
Mossel Bay Barbarians:
Try: Hendricks
Old Selbornians 43–7 Bridgton
Old Selbornians:
Tries: Birkholtz 2, Gombert 2, Kleinhans
Cons: Shone 2
Pens: Shone 4
Bridgton:
Try: September
Con: Plaatjies
Pool B:
Bloemfontein Crusaders 14–78 College Rovers
Bloemfontein Crusader:
Tries: Job, Boucher
Cons: Taljaard 2
College Rovers:
Tries: Noble 3, Serge, Chiocchetti, Pretorius, Small, Twine, Wilkinson, Crocker, Rick, Randall, Venter
Cons: Dannhauser 8, Noble
Rovers 31–37 Roodepoort
Rovers:
Tries: Strydom, Ntlantsana, Nieuwenhuyzen, Ludick
Cons: Strydom 4
Pen: Strydom
Roodepoort:
Tries: Shaw 2, Geyer
Cons: Williams 2
DGs: Esterhuizen
Pool C:
Brakpan 48–23 Boksburg
Brakpan:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Damba, Strydom, Van der Berg
Cons: Horn 4
Pens: Horn 5
Boksburg:
Tries: Adams, Matthee
Cons: Buchler 2
Pens: Buchler 3
Roses United 26–26 Centurion
Roses United:
Tries: Fikster, Marsh 3
Cons: Julies 3
Centurion:
Tries: Burger 2
Cons: Moir 2
Pens: Moir 2, Twiname 2
Pool D:
Sishen 35–29 Shumba Ferros
Sishen:
Tries: Bloem, Tities, Zwiegelaar, Van Aarde, Grobler
Cons: Bloem 2
Pen: Bloem
DG: Le Roux
Shumba Ferros:
Tries: Botes 2, Ngozo, Collen
Cons: Pieters 2, Van der Merwe
Pen: Pieters
Wesbank 12–41 Hamiltons
Wesbank:
Tries: Swarts, penalty try
Con: Wellman
Hamiltons:
Tries: Tsomondo 2, Cleghorn, Burch, Bartels, Pheiffer, Winter
Cons: Vallender, Van Zyl 2
Community Cup logs
(Under played, won, points)
Pool A
Depatch (3, 3, 14)
Old Selbornians (2, 2, 9)
Mossel Bay Barbarians (2, 1, 5)
Spring Rose (2, 0, 1)
Bridgeton (3, 0, 0)
Pool B
Roodepoort (3, 3, 13)
College Rovers (2, 2, 10)
Bloemfontein Crusaders (3, 1, 6)
Rovers (2, 0, 2)
Welkom (2, 0, 0)
Pool C
Roses United 3, 2, 13)
Brakpan (2, 1, 7)
Centurion (2, 1, 7)
Boksburg (3, 1, 6)
Noordelikes (2, 0, 0)
Pool D
Hamiltons (2, 2, 10)
Rustenberg Impala (2, 2, 10)
Shumba Ferros (3, 1, 6)
Sishen (3, 1, 5)
Wesbank (2, 0, 1)