No rest as SuperSport Rugby Challenge heads to Rustenburg – Round 6 Preview
The SuperSport Rugby Challenge has passed the halfway mark and from now on, all teams will go full tilt as they aim to secure places in the playoffs, with the quarter-finals a month away.
The third Rugby Festival in Rustenburg tops the charts this weekend as the four teams in action in the Central Section head to the home of the defending Gold Cup champions, Newrak Impala in North West, for what promises to be a mouth-watering day of Sunday action.
The top of the table clash in this section between the Leopards and Tafel Lager Griquas is the pick of the weekend’s action. Both teams have won three of their first four matches and victory in Rustenburg, where another bumper crowd is expected, will go a long way in ensuring a first place on the log.
The home team’s Gene Willemse will be a marked man but the visitors from Kimberley will bring their own wrecking ball to the party in Tertius Kruger. Both these men have scored four tries thus far in the competition, but the Leopards will know that their defensive structures will be properly tested by Tafel Lager Griquas’ strong midfielder.
The 23-year-old Kruger, who transferred from Bloemfontein to Kimberley at the end of last season after five seasons in the colours of the Free State, is one of Tafel Lager Griquas’ main attacking weapons and his strong running makes him difficult to stop in the midfield.
Kruger is a former SWD schoolboy star who matriculated at Outeniqua in George, but since then he’s been a stalwart for the Free State at age-group level and in the Currie Cup, while he also played for the all-conquering Shimlas team that won the 2015 FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International.
The earlier match at Impala on Sunday is between Kruger’s former team, the Toyota Free State XV, and their northern neighbours, the Down Touch Griffons. Neither of these teams has really lived up to expectations this year and will be looking to get their season back on course.
Apart from the double-bill on Sunday, there are four more matches scheduled for Saturday, with some interesting match-ups in both the North and South Sections.
In Nelspruit, the winner of the match between the Steval Pumas and Vodacom Bulls will move to the top of the North Section log, surpassing the Xerox Golden Lions (who have a bye this weekend), although they will have then played one more match than the team from Johannesburg.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls will take momentum with them to the Lowveld after they beat the Xerox Golden Lions last weekend, while the Steval Pumas will want nothing more than a repeat of their first round victory over the men in blue in Pretoria last month.
The other North Section match takes place in Windhoek, where the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias will be looking for their first victory of the season when they host the Hino Valke on the fast surface of the Hage Geingob Stadium.
Defeat for either team will all but end any aspirations they harbour of making the knock-outs so sparks are expected to fly in the Namibian capital.
The two top teams in the South Section are both in action on Saturday. DHL Western Province host the EP Kings at City Park in Athlone, which is approximately 7km down the road from DHL Newlands, and the home team – the only unbeaten side thus far in the competition – should have too much firepower for their visitors from Port Elizabeth.
But 150km to the north-east of Cape Town, in the beautiful Boland town of Ceres, the Border Bulldogs will be hoping to keep alive their pursuit of DHL WP when they face the Cavaliers. All these matches on Saturday are scheduled to kick off at 15h00.
As a curtain-raiser to the two provincial matches in Rustenburg on Sunday, hosts and defending Gold Cup champions Newrak Impala will face QBR from Pretoria in a Carlton Cup match, which doubles as a qualifier for the Gold Cup.
SuperSport Rugby Challenge Round 6 Fixtures:
Saturday 27 May:
Steval Pumas v Vodacom Blue Bulls
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: Pro Legoete
Windhoek Draught Welwitschias v Hino Valke
Venue: Hage Geingob Stadium, Windhoek
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
DHL Western Province v EP Kings
Venue: City Park, Athlone
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: Ben Crouse
Boland Cavaliers v Border Bulldogs
Venue: Ceres
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: Vusi Msibi
Sunday 28 May
Down Touch Griffons v Toyota Free State XV
Venue: Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg
Kick-off: 12h00
Referee: Jaco Pretorius
TV: SS1, SS Select (210), CSN
Leopards v Tafel Lager Griquas
Venue: Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg
Kick-off: 14h00
Referee: AJ Jacobs
TV: SS Select (210)
Byes: Cell C Sharks XV, Xerox Golden Lions, SWD Eagles
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
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