Crucial clashes in third Rugby Festival: SuperSport Rugby Challenge
The third Rugby Festival of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge will be crucial to the fortunes of the four teams playing at Impala Rugby Club in Rustenburg on Sunday, while Saturday’s action will see two of the front-runners in the highly competitive North Section battle it out.
The North West venue will see the Down Touch Griffons face the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias in the opening clash at the Festival, while the second match, between hosts, the Leopards, and the Valke will see the losing side without a win halfway through the competition.
All four teams are on the wrong side of the log, and will have to start building winning momentum in the Platinum Belt or face the prospect of dropping out of the play-off race.
After three rounds of North Section action, the Tafel Lager Griquas, Xerox Golden Lions XV and iSG Pumas are yet to taste defeat, but this will change in Johannesburg Saturday, when the defending champions travel to Emirates Airline Park for their clash against the home side.
The other big clash in the North Section will be at Tafel Lager Park where the home team’s unbeaten status will be tested by a Vodacom Blue Bulls side boosted by a number of players who participated in the Vodacom Super Rugby competition this year.
South Section
Regular South Section leader, DHL Western Province, is again setting the pace and appears to be in a comfortable position to top the log again. They will play at DHL Newlands for the first time this season when they line up against the Zimbabwe Academy, who will make the short trip north from False Bay Rugby Club to the historical rugby venue.
The clashes in Durban and Bloemfontein respectively could also determine the participating teams’ further progress. The Cell C Sharks XV will host the undefeated Boland Cavaliers in Durban on Friday, and on Saturday, the Toyota Free State XV take on the SWD Eagles in a match that will decide which side keeps their play-off hopes alive.
Sunday’s South Section match where the Multisure EP Elephants host Border in Port Elizabeth in an Eastern Cape derby, will be more about bragging rights than log positions, as both teams are currently languishing in the bottom half of the log.
The latest standings are here:https://www.springboks.rugby/en/tournaments/matchcenter
Round Four fixtures are:
17 May 2019:
Cell C Sharks XV vs Boland Cavaliers
Venue: KP2, Durban
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
Saturday, 18 May 2019
Xerox Golden Lions XV v iSG Pumas
Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 12h00
Referee: Quinton Immelman
DHL Western Province v Zimbabwe Academy
Venue: DHL Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 14h30
Referee: Vusi Msibi
Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV v SWD Eagles
Venue: Clive Solomon Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 14h30
Referee: Divan Uys
Tafel Lager Griquas v Vodacom Blue Bulls
Venue: Tafel Lager Park, Kimberley
Kick-off: 14h30
Referee: Egon Seconds
Sunday, 19 May (Rugby Festival, Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg)
Down Touch Griffons v Windhoek Draught Welwitschias
Kick-off: 12h30
Referee: Ben Crouse
TMO: Johan Greeff
TV: SuperSport 10
Leopards v Valke
Kick-off: 14h30
Referee: Paul Mente
TMO: Johan Greeff
TV: SuperSport 10
Multisure EP Elephants v Border
Venue: Wolfson Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: Archie Sehlako
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