Pukke win, Shimlas beaten

Varsity Cup outfits, Pukke and Shimlas, got their 2009 National Club Championships campaigns off to contrasting starts; with Pukke winning easily and Shimlas going down to giant-killers, Park, from Eastern Province in Pretoria on Sunday.

Park and fellow Eastern Cape side, Buffalo (from Border), both provided the upsets in the first round of the Club Champs when they beat their more fancied opponents.

In the main match of the day, home boys Police were given a lesson in commitment and skill by Buffalo whose forwards were quicker to the breakdown and their backs better at using their opportunities.

The score was 45-19 to Buffalo who held their own in the first half and went into the break at 9-9. They then surged ahead to a lead of 21-19 before Police capitulated for Buffalo to run out 45-19 winners with their five tries coming from Andrew Klinkradt, Mathew Taljaard, Reinhard Gerber, Brad Tessendorf and Yongama Makaza.

There can be no doubt that the physical approach of Buffalo, their hard-running with and without the ball, and commitment to the rucks will be a real test for Springs whom they meet in the second round on Tuesday.

Their downfall could, however, be their discipline, as they had three players in the sin bin at the same time for a period in the second half before their final blitz.

** FNB Shimlas' rather poor season continued when the Free State students were defeated 27-26 by Park.

As the score suggests, it was a very evenly balanced match with both sides trying to run the ball - and both achieving this to good effect with the Shimlas scoring two tries to the four of Park, whose last-gasp try by replacement Hendrik Niemand clinched the match in the final minute of a game in which the teams had to resort to uncontested scrums.

The winning try provided Park with their only points of the second half after they had led 22-20 at the break.

The Shimlas' exit from the Cup competition means the Pukke - the 2009 Varsity Cup finalists - remain the only university side in a competition that over the years has been dominated by student sides.

Shimlas' scorers:
Tries: Bertus Bester, Danie Cronjé
Cons: Johan van Niekerk 2
Pens: Van Niekerk 4

** Defending champions NWU-Pukke started the defence of their title with an emphatic 87-12 win (31-7 at half-time) over Noordelikes of Limpopo.

Rudy Joubert's team scored 13 tries, with Theuns Kotze converting 11 of their five-pointers.

However, whether or not a repeat of this performance will be good enough to retain the title is a moot point.

Noordelikes were simply no match for the rampant students, and although they tried to defend against a side that had a surfeit of possession, they simply could not plug all the gaps.

Pukke made many errors, especially early on. Although this could, to some extent, be ascribed to the poor opposition and some negative defensive play from Noordelikes, the reality is that the North West side lacked structure in the first half.

Pukke will play Boland champions Rawsonville in the second round on Tuesday - and should they win they will face the victors from the second-round match between Springs and Buffalo in the semifinal on Thursday.

Pukke's scorers:
Tries: Jacques de Kock, Marcel du Toit 2, Dirco Rautenbach 3, Janus Terblanche, Alfred Wauldts, Wouter Watermeyer, John Roodt 2, Willem Barnard, Jaco Lotter
Cons: Theuns Kotzé 11

** Rawsonville came from well behind to beat SWD's Groot Brakrivier 25-21.

The Eagles side were on top until midway through the second half, but then scrumhalf Ricardo Jones and lock Gawie Jonker took the lead in Rawsonville's fightback, aided by some deceptive running from their backs.

Despite trailing early on, however, the impression throughout was that Rawsonville had just that little more to offer, and they clinched the game in the dying minutes after trailing 16-7 at half-time.

** Hamilton's, fresh from clinching the Western Province title for the first time since 1936, beat Griquas champions Kuruman 83-19, but the Capetonians were made to fight all the way by a Kuruman side that never gave up and scored three tries - something few sides achieved in the WP League.

The half-time score was 38-14 to the WP champs, who will be up there when the play-offs are decided.

** College Rovers from Durban were given a torrid time by the Impala (North West) forwards after the break, when Rovers led 15-3.

The national stage seemed to leave the Rustenburg side flatfooted, but after Rovers seemed to be cruising they suddenly had to pull out all the stopts for a deserved but hard-fought 33-25 win.

Rovers, with their Sharks players as a booster, play Pirates of the Golden Lions in the second round in what should be a tremendous match with both sides preferring to run the ball.

** Pirates ran out 66-3 winners against Middelburg in a surprisingly easy victory over the Pumas champions.

Whether the big win is to their benefit will become evident when they play Rovers, although their legs are bound to be a bit fresher with a less strenuous clash behind them. Ten tries to nil tells the story of Middelburg who were disappointing and overpowered in every facet.

** The first match of the day, between Springs of the Valke and the Griffons' Welkom Rovers, set the pattern for the day's pleasant rugby that showed there is generally not much wrong with the South African game at club level.

Springs ran out 37-14 winners in a tight, uncompromising match in which the effort of the two sides made up for the skills which were often not quite up to par.

Springs controlled the first 20 minutes without scoring, then deservedly put some points on the board but were eventually made to work for every one of their points.

Round Two fixtures for Tuesday, September 22:

Premier quarterfinals:
Pukke v Rawsonville
College Rovers v Park
Hamiltons v Pirates
Springs v Buffalo

Plate quarterfinals:
Noordelikes v Great Brakriver
Impala v Shimlas
Kuruman v Middelburg
Welkom Rovers v Pretoria Police