Rustenburg to host Cell C Community Cup Easter play-offs
DEFENDING Cell C Community Cup champions Rustenburg Impala will host the tournament’s 2015 Easter weekend play-offs, the South African Rugby Union confirmed on Monday.
Impala Rugby Club will host the tournament’s 12 play-off matches on 2, 4 & 6 April, with the Cup final to be played on Easter Monday. All Easter matches will be televised live on SuperSport.
Rustenburg replaces George, which hosted the 2013 and 2014 Community Cup Easter weekends.
The Southern Cape town will instead host the tournament’s opening match on 21 February, when SWD champions Evergreens play Boland champions One Logix United Bulk Villagers Worcester at the Pacaltsdorp Sportsgrounds, in a match that will be broadcast live on TV (SuperSport 1/HD, 14h00) and radio (Eden FM, 87.8-103.6 FM & on edenfm.co.za).
“Club rugby’s vibe is unique mainly because club venues around the country are intimate and cater for the whole family,” said SARU CEO, Jurie Roux. “Watching club rugby is a unique experience. It’s different to watching a provincial game at a stadium and we wanted to tap into that uniqueness.
“The Community Cup’s pool stage, which sees clubs host all 40 matches, is a winning formula and we would like to carry that into the Easter play-offs. Impala Rugby Club were the outstanding candidate to bid to host the event. Their facilities are second-to-none for a South African club while the clubhouse serves as an important social hub for the town and its residents.”
Meanwhile, the Evergreens vs Villagers Worcester Pool C encounter is the first of 40 group matches to be hosted at clubs across the length and breadth of the country from 21 February to 21 March, as the 20 participating sides vie for one of the eight tickets to Rustenburg.
George apart, a number of other intriguing tussles are scheduled for the opening weekend in six of South Africa’s nine provinces. SA’s oldest club, Hamiltons, bronze medallists in last year’s Community Cup, will kick off their landmark 140th anniversary season with an away trip to the Northern Cape mining town of Kathu to face Aveng Moolmans Sishen in the weekend’s other Pool C match.
In Pool A, champions Rustenburg Impala open their title defence at home to newcomers Port Elizabeth Police, while the Clive Solomon Stadium in Heidedal will see Free State’s top open club, Bloemfontein Crusaders, welcome their Golden Lions counterparts Raiders in Pool B.
And in Pool D, 2013 champions GAP Management Despatch face a tough away opener in the northern Free State against Rovers Welkom, while Pumas champions Shumba Ferros and Boland qualifiers Wesbank resume their rivalry of 2014, this time in another quintessential rugby heartland – the Swartland town of Malmesbury.
2015 Fixtures (Home team first, Pools in brackets, all k/o times TBC):
Round 1 – Sat 21 February:
Kempston Old Selbornians vs Durbanville-Bellville (A)
Rustenburg Impala vs Don’s Pawn Shop PE Police (A)
Bloemfontein Crusaders vs Raiders (B)
Pretoria Police vs BB Truck & Tractor Noordelikes (B)
Aveng Moolmans Sishen vs Hamiltons (C)
Evergreens vs United Bulk Villagers Worcester (C)
Rovers Welkom vs GAP Management Despatch (D)
Wesbank vs Shumba Ferros (D)
Byes: Springs (A), College Rovers (B), Wanderers (C), Durban Collegians (D)
Round 2 – Sat 28 February:
Don’s Pawn Shop PE Police vs Kempston Old Selbornians (A)
Durbanville-Bellville vs East Rand Cranes Springs (A)
Jonsson College Rovers vs BB Truck & Tractor Noordelikes (B)
Bloemfontein Crusaders vs Pretoria Police (B)
United Bulk Villagers Worcester vs Aveng Moolmans Sishen (C)
Hamiltons vs Vaseline Wanderers (C)
GAP Management Despatch vs Wesbank (D)
SA Home Loans Durban Collegians vs Rovers Welkom (D)
Byes: Rustenburg Impala (A), Raiders (B), Evergreens (C), Ferros (D)
Round 3 – Sat 7 March:
East Rand Cranes Springs vs Don’s Pawn Shop PE Police (A)
Kempston Old Selbornians vs Rustenburg Impala (A)
Pretoria Police vs Jonsson College Rovers (B)
BB Truck & Tractor Noordelikes vs Raiders (B)
Evergreens vs Vaseline Wanderers (C)
United Bulk Villagers Worcester vs Hamiltons (C)
Wesbank vs SA Home Loans Durban Collegians (D)
Shumba Ferros vs GAP Management Despatch (D)
Byes: Durbanville-Bellville (A), Bloemfontein Crusaders (B), Sishen (C), Rovers Welkom (D)
Round 4 – Sat 14 March:
Rustenburg Impala vs East Rand Cranes Springs (A)
Don’s Pawn Shop PE Police vs Durbanville-Bellville (A)
Raiders vs Pretoria Police (B)
Jonsson College Rovers vs Bloemfontein Crusaders (B)
Vaseline Wanderers vs United Bulk Villagers Worcester (C)
Aveng Moolmans Sishen vs Evergreens (C)
SA Home Loans Durban Collegians vs Shumba Ferros (D)
Rovers Welkom vs Wesbank (D)
Byes: Old Selbornians (A), Noordelikes (B), Hamiltons (C), Despatch (D)
Round 5 – Sat 21 March:
Durbanville-Bellville vs Rustenburg Impala (A)
East Rand Cranes Springs vs Kempston Old Selbornians (A)
BB Truck & Tractor Noordelikes vs Bloemfontein Crusaders (B)
Raiders vs Jonsson College Rovers (B)
Hamiltons vs Evergreens (C)
Vaseline Wanderers vs Aveng Moolmans Sishen (C)
Shumba Ferros vs Rovers Welkom (D)
GAP Management Despatch vs SA Home Loans Dbn Collegians (D)
Byes: PE Police (A), Pretoria Police (B), Villagers Worcester (C), Wesbank (D)
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