National Clubs Round-up: Sishen strikes gold in Club Competitions
GRIQUAS champions Sishen all but confirmed their return to the Cell C Community Cup in 2014 when they beat Upington United last weekend to make it eight from eight in this year’s Super League.
Three of the 20 slots for the 2014 edition of SARU’s elite tournament for non-university or so-called ‘open’ clubs have already been filled, with Centurion set to represent the Bulls after finishing as the highest-placed open club on the final Carlton League log.
As defending champions, GAP Despatch will be assured of their place should they not qualify automatically as the top open club in Eastern Province at the end of the season, while Bloemfontein Crusaders made history when they became the first wild card in the short history of the Community Cup to re-qualify by right, as Free State’s top open club.
Sishen took part in the inaugural Community Cup where they gave a good account of themselves in the tournament’s toughest pool, including a narrow away defeat to eventual champions GAP Despatch.
The miners from Kathu in the Northern Cape need just a single log point from one of their remaining two matches to be assured of their place in the 2014 Community Cup, although as things stand it would take a miracle for them to be denied, given their 10-point lead over second-placed Kimberley and a points differential of 181.
Kimberley would have been hoping that next week’s final-round match between the two sides would have doubled as a Community Cup shootout but the side suffered an unexpected and heavy 50-5 away defeat to perennial league runners-up Kuruman last week to all but dash their chances of automatic qualification.
Elsewhere around the country, Boland champions Villagers Worcester moved up the Premier League table into third place following a morale-boosting 38-24 victory over second-placed Wesbank. Community Cup wild cards Roses United lead the standings and remain unbeaten after eight matches, eight points ahead of the chasing pack.
The Border Premier League is reaching the business end with the final round of league action taking place this weekend, before the top four from each of the league’s two groups progress to the quarter-finals, set for the first weekend of August.
Group B is all but tied up, with Fort Hare, Police, champions Broubart Old Selbornian and Cambridge already virtually assured of a place in the last eight. Buffalo will join them from Group A but any three of WSU All Blacks, Winter Rose, Breakers, Swallows or Berlin Tigers may yet sneak into the play-offs, depending on what happens this weekend.
And in the EP Grand Challenge, Community Cup champions GAP Despatch face tournament wild cards African Bombers in one of the matches of the weekend, while Spring Rose and Crusaders, currently lying third and fourth behind NMMU and Despatch, will fight it out to move one step closer to possible title contention.
There’s also final-round action from the Griffons First League on Friday, while Community Cup runners-up Jonsson College Rovers will look to make it 11 from 11 when they travel to Pietermaritzburg on Friday to take on Collegians in the KZN Moor Cup.
And in the Western Province Super League A, fifth-placed Hamiltons host ninth-placed Tygerberg in a must-win match if they are to stay in the Community Cup race, after Durbanville-Bellville beat SK Walmers 26-18 last weekend to pick up their ninth win in 11 matches and move five points clear at the top of the log.
This weekend’s nationwide Premier League club fixtures (as supplied to SARU by its provincial unions):
Blue Bulls Limpopo – Boet Fick Senior League, Saturday (Round 6 of 10):
Pietersburg vs Noordelikes
Letaba vs Messina
Loskop vs Louis Trichardt
Boland – Premier League, Saturday (Postponed Round 4 matches):
Robertson vs Saldanha
Wesbank vs Ceres
Vredenburg vs Villagers Worcester
Wellington vs Black Leaves
Hawston vs Roses Utd
Border – Premier League, Saturday (Final round before quarter-finals):
Pool A:
Buffalo vs Young Leopards
Ntlaza Lions vs Breakers
Wallabies vs All Blacks
Swallows vs Berlin Tigers
Winter Rose vs Africans
Pool B:
Ngculu Zebras vs Ready Blues
Ocean Sweepers vs King Brumbies
Old Collegians vs Fort Hare Blues
Old Selbornians vs Evergreen
Police vs Cambridge
EP – Grand Challenge, Saturday (Round 11 of 16):
NMMU vs Gardens
Spring Rose vs Crusaders
SAPS vs Orlando Eagles
Progress vs Utd Barbarians
Brumbies vs Suburban
Kruisfontein vs St Marks
Despatch vs African Bombers
Harlequins vs Park
Golden Lions – Pirates Grand Challenge/Predator:
Roodepoort vs Rustenburg Impala
Diggers vs Alberton
Raiders vs Randfontein
Griffons – 1st League, Friday (Final round before semi-finals):
Welkom vs Kroonstad
Henneman vs Welkom Rovers
Griquas – Super League, Saturday (Week 13 of 14):
Upington Dorp vs Sishen
Upington United vs Kimberley
Kuruman vs Postmasburg
KZN – Fidelity Security Moor Cup, Friday (Round 11 of 14):
Harlequins vs Dbn Collegians
Varsity College vs Zululand Rhinos
UKZN Impi vs Crusaders
PMB Collegians vs College Rovers
Leopards – Neser A League, Saturday (Semi-finals):
Potch Dorp vs Hartbeesfontein
Leeudoringstad vs Vryburg
SWD – Premier League, Saturday (Round 13 of 22):
Progress vs All Blacks
Barbarians vs Bonnievale Utd
Groot-Brakrivier vs Blanco
Evergreens vs Crusaders
Uniondale vs Silver Stars
Bridgton vs Swellendam
Valke – Peregrine Super League, Saturday (Final round before Final):
Boksburg vs Springs (Boksburg 110th anniversary celebrations)
Brakpan vs Kempton Wolves
WP – Super League A, Saturday (Week 13 of 24):
Hamiltons vs Tygerberg
Belhar vs Bellville
Helderberg vs SK Walmers
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