National Club Rugby Round-up – Old Greys look to repeat heroics
A ticket to the National Club Championships is up for grabs when Bloemfontein arch-rivals FNB Shimlas and Old Greys go head to head this weekend in the Free State First Division final.
With 102 days remaining until the 2011 Club Champs kicks off in Stellenbosch on 17 September, Shimlas, who lost 57-20 to eventual winners FNB UCT in this year’s FNB Varsity Cup semi-finals, will have the chance to become the first team to qualify for the season-ending tournament.
Standing in their way are Old Greys, who will be hoping for a repeat of their fairytale 2007 season. Four years ago, the club won the Free State title before narrowly missing out on a place in the National Club Champs final, losing 26-20 to Maties in the last four.
“We’re a very old club with a lot of history and tradition,” said vice-president Rainier Esterhuizen. “We’ve had a good season so far and although we’ve lost twice to Shimlas the scores have been close. We don’t have many big names but we believe we can win.”
Old Greys’ kingpin is veteran scrumhalf Dougie Hellmuth, while up front Baksteen van Heerden will look to provide solidity at scrum time.
In other news from around the country, 2009 national club champions Hamilton moved one step closer to qualifying for the 2011 tournament when they beat arch-rivals Villager 30-6 in a Western Province Super League A clash between the country’s two oldest clubs. Hammies’ bonus-point victory means they now require 13 points from their remaining three matches to overtake Maties at the top of the log after the first round.
Progress moved one step closer to joining either Hammies or Maties at the Club Champs when they beat George 18-13 in an SWD Premier League encounter.
Springs taught Brakpan a rugby lesson when they won the East Rand derby 32-3 while surprise package Witrivier march on unbeaten in the Mpumalanga Lowveld League after a 27-26 win over Belfast. Middelburg remain on course to win the province’s Hoëveld-Koolveld regional title after they beat fierce rivals Ferros 19-13.
National club champions Jonsson College Rovers moved clear of the KZN Premier Division field with a 52-0 hammering of Varsity Shield team FNB UKZN Pietermaritzburg, while there were big wins for Ammosal, Kimberley Police and Kuruman in the Griquas Super League. Bethlehem Oud-Skoliere’s Griffons title defence suffered a setback when they lost 24-18 in Kroonstad.
FNB UJ remain unbeaten in the Golden Lions Pirates Grand Challenge and Predator leagues after a 29-0 victory over Union, while there were also wins for the chasing pack of Wits, Raiders, Pirates and Pukke. In the Blue Bulls’ Carlton League, Pretoria Harlequins, Centurion and Pretoria Police recorded wins to stay within touch of champions Tuks, who enjoyed a bye.
Roses United and Wesbank picked up big wins in the Boland Premier League to set up an intriguing clash in Wellington on Saturday, with Wesbank needing to win with a bonus point and by 23 points if they are to pip Roses to Club Champs qualification.
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