Six book spots in Cell C Community Cup Easter play-offs
SIX clubs, including first-timers Hamiltons and Kempston Old Selbornians, have booked their places in next month’s Cell C Community Cup Easter play-offs after a penultimate round of pool action that saw numerous title contenders pull away from the chasing pack.
From Pool A, defending champions Gap Management Despatch will be joined in the last eight by Old Selbornians, who needed a last-gasp breakout try from wing Bradley Birkholtz to eliminate Mossel Bay Barbarians 30-20 in front of 2,700 fans at D’Almeida Stadium.
Last year’s runners-up, Jonsson College Rovers, ensured they would finish top of Pool B after a hard-fought 41-20 win over fellow qualifiers Roodepoort, with former Springbok wing Jongi Nokwe re-emerging from an injury layoff with two tries.
And in Pool D, qualifiers Hamiltons and Impala will fight it out for top spot in Rustenburg this weekend after big wins over Shumba Ferros and Wesbank respectively.
But all eyes will be on Pool C on Saturday as Roses United, Refreshhh! Centurion and G5 Metals Brakpan slug it out for the last two places on offer. Unbeaten Roses hold a one-point lead over their rivals and are in pole position to qualify for George, where SARU’s national championship for non-university clubs reaches its climax over the Easter long weekend, from 17-21 April.
Roses however will need to beat bottom-placed BB Truck Noordelikes to not only be assured of their place but also to finish top. Adding spice to the permutations is that Centurion, who were impressive in their 58-20 victory over Kaufela Boksburg, will be at home against Brakpan – last year’s bronze medallists and one of the pre-tournament favourites.
And while the identity of the qualifiers from the other three pools is known, the make-up of the quarter-finals is still unclear as it is only College Rovers who are assured of finishing top. Despatch will travel to East London to face Old Selbornians on Saturday, with the loser set to face Rovers in the last eight, while there will be equally high stakes in the Hamiltons vs Impala showdown.
Full Results, Round 4:
Pool A:
Mossel Bay Barbarians (3) 20 – Tries: Jerome Fillies, Morne Buis. Conversions: Buis (2). Penalties: Buis (2).
Kempston Old Selbornians (20) 30 – Tries: Bradley Birkholtz, Lindani Gulwa, Peter Smith, Sinethemba Tyokolwana. Conversions: Warren Rielly (2). Penalties: Rielly (2).
Bridgton (10) 17 – Tries: Hadley Arries, Rhupino Plaatjies. Conversions: Adriaan Booysen (2). Penalty: Booysen.
Spring Rose (10) 20 – Tries: Gugu Makwabe, Bongani Ngqolombe. Conversions: Pumezo Tom (2). Penalties: Tom (2).
Pool B:
Roodepoort (6) 20 – Tries: Andre Esterhuizen, Jesse Geyer. Conversions: Hennie Oosthuizen (2). Penalties: Oosthuizen (2).
Jonsson College Rovers (15) 41 – Tries: Matthew Phillips, Kirk Twine, Jongi Nokwe (2), Dusty Noble, Chris Micklewood. Conversions: Micklewood, Jors Dannhauser (3). Penalty: Dannhauser.
Eagle Towing Rovers (19) 40 – Tries: Thembelani Mabomba, Stephan Kekana, Shaun Nieuwenhuyzen (2), LC van Tonder, Frank Mateus. Conversions: Pieter Strydom (5).
E-Car Welkom (10) 16 – Try: Neill Fullagar. Conversion: Heinrich Barnard. Penalty: Malcolm-Kerr Till. Drop goals: Barnard (2).
Pool C:
Kaufela Boksburg (10) 20 – Tries: Theo Rhodes, Dean Swart. Conversions: Ashley Buchler (2). Penalties: Buchler (2).
Refreshhh! Centurion (13) 58 – Tries: Christiaan Burger (3), Jacques Olivier, Quentin Horn, Stanley Twiname, Xerxes Oosthuizen. Conversions: Steven Moir (7). Penalties: Moir (3).
G5 Metals Brakpan (13) 35 – Tries: Wikus van der Berg (3), Tommy Damba (2). Conversions: Gido Horn (2). Penalties: Horn, Hein Cronje.
BB Truck Noordelikes (9) 22 – Try: Gert van der Merwe. Conversion: Zander Byleveldt. Penalties: Byleveldt (5).
Pool D:
Hamiltons (45) 66 – Tries: Jandre du Plessis (2), Niel Cleghorn, Attie Winter, Jody Burch (2), Iewan Bartels, Tapiwa Tsomondo, Janno van Zyl, Charlie Purdon. Conversions: Vallender (8).
Shumba Ferros (7) 12 – Tries: Jean Botha, Henson Ngozo. Conversion: Dewald Pieters.
Wesbank (7) 7 – Try: Anton Stander. Conversion: Rodville Jonkers.
Rustenburg Impala (33) 50 – Tries: Zander de Kock, Willie Kok (2), Victor Joubert, Linton Terblanche, Leon du Plessis, Justin St Jerry, Jermaine Apollis. Conversions: Naas Olivier (4), Wilco de Wet.
Logs after Round 4 (penultimate round):
| TEAM |
P |
W |
L |
D |
PF |
PA |
PD |
TF |
TA |
BP -7 |
BP 4T |
PTS |
| Pool A | ||||||||||||
| Gap Management Despatch |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
109 |
18 |
91 |
14 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
| Kempston Old Selbornians |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
93 |
46 |
47 |
12 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
| Spring Rose |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
45 |
61 |
-16 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
| Mossel Bay Barbarians |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
57 |
74 |
-17 |
8 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
| Bridgton |
4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
44 |
149 |
-105 |
6 |
20 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Pool B
Jonsson College Rovers |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
204 |
34 |
170 |
31 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
15 |
| Roodepoort |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
151 |
89 |
62 |
18 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
13 |
| Eagle Towing Rovers (Griffons) |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
92 |
82 |
10 |
13 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
| Bloemfontein Crusaders |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
60 |
118 |
-58 |
7 |
17 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
| E-Car Welkom |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
16 |
200 |
-184 |
1 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Pool C
Roses United |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
103 |
88 |
15 |
15 |
11 |
0 |
3 |
13 |
| Refreshhh! Centurion |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
130 |
68 |
62 |
14 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
12 |
| G5 Metals Brakpan |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
109 |
72 |
37 |
14 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
| Kaufela Boksburg |
4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
121 |
169 |
-48 |
14 |
20 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
| BB Truck Noordelikes |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
57 |
123 |
-66 |
6 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Pool D
Hamiltons |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
155 |
33 |
122 |
24 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
15 |
| Rustenburg Impala |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
120 |
41 |
79 |
17 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
15 |
| Shumba Ferros |
4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
91 |
162 |
-71 |
11 |
24 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
| Aveng Moolmans Sishen |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
61 |
106 |
-45 |
7 |
15 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
| Wesbank |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
39 |
124 |
-85 |
7 |
18 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Final-round fixtures (all kick-off times 16h00 unless otherwise indicated):
Round 5 – Saturday 5 April:
Match 33 (Pool A) – Spring Rose vs Mossel Bay Barbarians (New Brighton Oval, Port Elizabeth, 15h30)
Match 34 (Pool A) – Kempston Old Selbornians v Gap Management Despatch (Kempston Park, East London)
Match 35 (Pool B) – Jonsson College Rovers vs Eagle Towing Rovers (KP3, Kings Park, Durban, 15h00)
Match 36 (Pool B) – E-Car Welkom vs Bloemfontein Crusaders (Griffons Rugby Stadium ‘B’ field, Welkom)
Match 37 (Pool C) – Refreshhh! Centurion vs G5 Metals Brakpan (Centurion Rugby Club, Centurion)
Match 38 (Pool C) – BB Truck Noordelikes vs Roses United (Noordelikes Rugby Club, Polokwane, 16h30)
Match 39 (Pool D) – Rustenburg Impala vs Hamiltons (Rustenburg Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg)
Match 40 (Pool D) – Aveng Moolmans Sishen vs Wesbank (Sivos Rugby Stadium, Kathu)
Byes: Bridgton, Roodepoort, Kaufela Boksburg, Shumba Ferros.
Easter Play-offs – Outeniqua Park, George (all matches live on SuperSport):
Day 1 – Thu 17 Apr (kick-off times 11h15, 13h30, 15h45, 18h00; order of matches TBC by SuperSport):
Match 41 (Cup QF1) – Winner Pool C vs Rustenburg Impala or Hamiltons (Runner-up Pool D)
Match 42 (Cup QF2) – College Rovers (Winner Pool B) vs Despatch or Old Selbornians (Runner-up Pool A)
Match 43 (Cup QF3) – Rustenburg Impala or Hamiltons (Winner Pool D) vs Runner-up Pool C
Match 44 (Cup QF4) – Despatch or Old Selbornians (Winner Pool A) vs Roodepoort (Runner-up Pool B)
Day 2 – Sat 19 Apr (kick-off times 12h30, 14h45, 17h00, 19h15; order of matches TBC by SuperSport):
Match 45 (Losers’ match 1) – Loser Match 41 (QF1) vs Loser Match 42 (QF2)
Match 46 (Losers’ match 2) – Loser Match 43 (QF3) vs Loser Match 44 (QF4)
Match 47 (Cup SF1) – Winner Match 41 (QF1) vs Winner Match 42 (QF2)
Match 48 (Cup SF2) – Winner Match 43 (QF3) vs Winner Match 44 (QF4)
Day 3 – Mon 21 Apr – kick-off times & match order confirmed:
09h15 – Match 49 (7th/8th Place Play-off) – Loser Match 45 vs Loser Match 46
11h30 – Match 50 (5h/6th Place Play-off) – Winner Match 45 vs Winner Match 46
13h45 – Match 51 (3rd/4th Place Play-off) – Loser Match 47 (SF1) vs Loser Match 48 (SF2)
16h00 – Match 52 (Cup Final) – Winner Match 47 (SF1) vs Winner Match 48 (SF2)
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