Do-or-die weekend for SSG Gold Cup hopefuls

Mar 15 • General News, Varsity & Club • 3851 Views • Comments Off on Do-or-die weekend for SSG Gold Cup hopefuls

• Dynamic South African companies SSG Holdings, Blu Approved & M4Jam have teamed up to sponsor SA Rugby’s flagship national championship for non-university clubs

• Sponsorship forms part of SA Rugby’s long-term strategy to reboot club and amateur representative rugby

• First round of action characterised by capacity crowds and free-flowing rugby

The unforgiving nature of the new-look SSG Gold Cup, presented by Blu Approved & M4Jam and championed by 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok captain John Smit, means that a number of top clubs enter Saturday’s second round fighting to stay alive in SA Rugby’s flagship national championship for non-university clubs.

This follows a dramatic opening weekend, characterised by capacity crowds, free-flowing rugby and a number of surprise results from across the country.

In Pool A, a 10,000-strong crowd at Boland Park in Worcester were treated to an 81-point thriller as visitors Northam Platinum Rhinos held out for a 41-40 win over hosts OneLogix United Bulk Worcester Villagers, at 136 years the oldest team in this year’s tournament.

And 400km away in George, 2015 Gold Cup champions Durbell made it two away wins in the group when they showed their championship intent with a 35-7 dismantling of a very good Stiles Progress George team spurred on by 6,000 fanatical supporters at Rosemoor Stadium.

Saturday sees Progress at home again, this time against Villagers, with both teams knowing that a second defeat will almost certainly eliminate them from the competition. In the other match, Durbell host Rhinos in Cape Town, with both sides having their sights set on topping the log and possibly avoiding 2017 finalists College Rovers in the quarterfinals.

Not that Rovers’ advance to the playoffs is any foregone conclusion: on the back of an opening 36-9 home win over wildcards Phakisa Holdings East Rand United, the Durbanites must travel to Uitenhage to face EP champions Multisure Gardens at the historic Derrick Ferreira Stadium in Rosemore.

Gardens will be looking to bounce back from a 19-14 home defeat to Sasol Digi Mag Secunda in round one and, like Progress and Villagers, will need a victory over the 2017 Gold Cup finalists to keep their hopes alive of advancing from Pool B.

In the other pool match, East Rand United will also need to be in do-or-die mode when they host Sasol Digi Mag Secunda at the ‘Graveyard’, the Reigerpark Sports Ground in Ekurhuleni.

In Pool C, there is more backs-to-the-wall action at the Sivos Stadium in Kathu, where home side CT Hydraulics Sishen, who picked up an invaluable away bonus point in their 46-31 defeat in Pretoria to ABE Midas Naka Bulls, host Recall Security Bloemfontein Police.

The Bobbies are coming off at 31-25 away defeat to Welkom and, with Naka Bulls looming in the final round — albeit at their Bobbies Park fortress — the Bloemfonteiners know they must grab points on the road this weekend to have playoff aspirations.

In the other Pool C match, Naka Bulls host Welkom in Pretoria, with both teams one victory away from likely qualification for the last eight.

And in Pool D, arguably the match of the weekend sees 2014 and 2016 Gold Cup champions Newrak Rustenburg Impala, who in a repeat of the 2014 Gold Cup final overwhelmed RotoTank Roodepoort 54-31, hosting high-flying Hollywoodbets Swallows, who were surprise 17-13 victors over KWV Springs on the East Rand last weekend.

The Border side have a close affinity with the players from Impala, with many of the latter’s players hailing from the Eastern Cape. A capacity crowd is on the cards, with many Swallows supporters from around the country taking to social media to express their commitment to travel to Rustenburg for the match.

And in the pool’s other match, the hallowed turf of Emirates Airline Park hosts 2014 finalists RotoTank Roodepoort and KWV Springs in a Vodacom Super Rugby curtain-raiser that kicks off at 11h45. Both teams, like last week’s losing sides from the other three pools, must win to stand any chance of reaching the quarterfinals.

“Amateur club rugby is where rugby and communities are built from the ground up,” said Smit, the acting CEO of SSG Holdings and the face of this year’s tournament.

“The unsung heroes in these communities need to be given the opportunity to be celebrated and the Gold Cup is one of the ideal platforms to achieve this.

“The Gold Cup’s vision of building communities and providing opportunities is shared wholeheartedly by SSG Holdings, Blu Approved and M4Jam. We are proud to be associated with the grassroots game and we look forward to seeing the tournament grow from strength to strength.”

ROUND 2 FIXTURES — SSG GOLD CUP, PRESENTED BY BLU APPROVED & M4Jam

Sat 16 March:

Pool A:

16h00: Stiles Progress George v OneLogix United Bulk Villagers Worcester (Rosemoor Stadium, George)

16h00: Durbanville-Bellville v Northam Platinum Rhinos (Durbell Rugby Club, Cape Town)

Pool B:

15h30: Multisure Gardens v College Rovers (Derrick Ferreira Stadium, Uitenhage)

16h00: Phakisa Holdings East Rand United v Sasol Digi Mag Secunda (Reiger Park Sports Ground, Ekurhuleni)

Pool C:

16h00: ABE Midas Naka Bulls v Welkom (Naka Bulls RFC, Pretoria)

16h00: CT Hydraulics Sishen v Recall Security Bloemfontein Police (Sivos Stadium, Kathu)

Pool D:

11h45: RotoTank Roodepoort v KWV Springs (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

16h00: Newrak Rustenburg Impala v Hollywoodbets Swallows (Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg)

About the Sponsors:

SSG HOLDINGS:

SSG Holdings, formerly known as the SSG Group, was formed to realise the dream of its shareholders to create a specialised, integrated services group to deliver technically sound and commercially viable Security, Facilities Management and Cleaning solutions to the South African market. The business has a national footprint and has experienced exceptional growth since its inception in early 2014.

BLU APPROVED:

Blu Approved combines technical innovation with entrepreneurial flair to bring products and services associated with the developed world directly to the doorsteps of people who may be geographically and economically isolated from the mainstream. By so doing, Blu Approved creates jobs, supports the growth of small businesses, and helps bridge the digital divide. With over 150,000 points of presence, Blu Approved puts products and services within arm’s reach of every South African — even those people in the furthest rural corners of the country. These products and services range from airtime, data and electricity to bill payments, money transfers, betting and ticketing.

M4JAM (Money4Jam):

M4Jam – a South African technology success story – is a mobile app that builds companies and communities by empowering unsung micro-entrepreneurs with real-time micro-job opportunities. With youth unemployment at a record high of 54.7%, M4Jam’s mission is to create one million micro-jobs a month by 2020. Since January 2015, 180,603 jobbers have successfully competed 1,247,112 micro-jobs that they have benefited from. Businesses that M4Jam has helped include Cell C, Pioneer Foods, Sanlam, Unilever, Sasko, Virgin Money & Clover.