Hamiltons set for Cell C Community Cup debut

Mar 15 • Cell C Community Cup, General News • 4019 Views • Comments Off on Hamiltons set for Cell C Community Cup debut

South Africa’s oldest rugby club, Hamiltons, will make their Cell C Community Cup debut in Cape Town on Saturday while up north, victory at home for fellow newcomers Kaufela Boksburg and Shumba Ferros will move them one step closer to next month’s knockout stages.
Hamiltons, established in 1876, have named a strong line-up for their Pool D match at the Stephan Oval in Green Point against Griquas champions Aveng Moolmans Sishen, who travel to the Mother City for their second consecutive away match having lost 29-17 to fellow miners Rustenburg Impala in round one.

Former DHL Stormers centre Morgan Newman will captain a side brimming with provincial experience, which also includes former Griquas back Richard Lawson and veteran Attie Winter.

Impala, meanwhile, will travel to Emalahleni on Saturday for another mining derby against Ferros, who opened their account with a 33-20 victory over Boland’s Wesbank, who this week enjoy a bye before their highly-anticipated WP-Boland derby against Hamiltons in Malmesbury next week.

And at Prince George Park in Boksburg, the home side, buoyed by their first-round 42-13 win over BB Truck Noordelikes, will face high-flying Roses United in what could prove to be a crucial Pool C encounter. Roses, the Boland champions, shocked tournament favourites G5 Metals Brakpan 27-26 at Pelican Park in Wellington on the opening weekend to set up an intriguing battle with the Valke runners-up.

Golden Lions champions Roodepoort embark on the first of two trips to Welkom this weekend to play E-Car Welkom in a Pool B encounter. The Gautengers, who finished seventh overall last year in SARU’s flagship tournament for non-university clubs, began their campaign with a hard-fought 19-17 win over Free State’s top open club, Bloemfontein Crusaders.

A win for Roodepoort will set them up nicely ahead of their clash with 2013 runners-up Jonsson College Rovers in round four. Rovers, the 2010 and 2012 national club champions, meanwhile looked in ominous form at Kings Park last week when they trounced E-Car Welkom 85-0. But the Northern Free Staters are always a tougher nut to crack at home, and will want to make amends for their disappointing tournament debut in Durban.

And in Pool A, defending champions Gap Management Despatch, fresh off their stuttering 24-6 win over Spring Rose in the tournament opener, will travel to Oudtshoorn to face SWD champions Bridgton, who will want to make amends for their 32-13 loss to Mossel Bay Barbarians last weekend. A capacity crowd is expected at the Bridgton Sports Grounds and the visitors will need to be at the top of their game against opponents who will be representing the hopes of the entire Karoo region.

Upcoming Cell C Community Cup fixtures (all kick-off times 16h00 unless otherwise indicated):

Round 2 – Saturday 15 March:

Match 9 (Pool A) – Bridgton vs Gap Management Despatch (Bridgton Sports Grounds, Oudtshoorn)
Match 10 (Pool A) – Spring Rose vs Kempston Old Selbornians (New Brighton Oval, Port Elizabeth, 15h30)
Match 11 (Pool B) – E-Car Welkom vs Roodepoort (Griffons Rugby Stadium ‘B’ field, Welkom)
Match 12 (Pool B) – Bloemfontein Crusaders vs Eagle Towing Rovers (Clive Solomon Stadium, Heidedal)
Match 13 (Pool C) – Kaufela Boksburg vs Roses United (Prince George Park, Boksburg)
Match 14 (Pool C) – Refreshhh! Centurion vs BB Truck Noordelikes (Centurion Rugby Club, Centurion)
Match 15 (Pool D) – Hamiltons vs Aveng Moolmans Sishen (Stephan Oval, Green Point, Cape Town)
Match 16 (Pool D) – Shumba Ferros vs Rustenburg Impala (Puma Stadium, Emalahleni/Witbank, 15h30)
Byes: Mossel Bay Barbarians, Jonsson College Rovers, G5 Metals Brakpan, Wesbank.

Courtesy of SARU