Three Helderberg teams competing in the Super League club rugby semi-finals at City Park in Athlone at the weekend progressed to their respective finals, with the exception of Macassar RFC.
Helderberg RFC, St George’s RFC and Strand RFC all secured victories as well as promotion to a higher league and will now prepare for the finals in the coming weeks.
- In the opening match of the festival of club rugby, Macassar fell short of automatic promotion to Super League B (SLB) after going down 22-12 to the students of CPUT in the first Super League C (SLC) semi-final.
Getting off to a blistering start, CPUT scored three tries in the opening exchanges. Poor decision making and handling errors hampered the rhythm of the MC Boys, as they failed to put any points on the board in the first half. Despite an improved performance in the second stanza, they never really got going.
The MC Boys were solid in defence and never gave up, with captain Clint Stewart starring with 104 m gained and a try.
All is not lost for them, though, as they now take a longer route to gain promotion to SLB, with a third-place play-off match against Kylemore scheduled. The winner of this match will play in a promotion/relegation match against Busy Bee RFC.
- Strand RFC gained promotion to SLB after a 27-21 victory over Kylemore in the other SLC semi-final. Liga dominated the first half, scoring two unconverted tries courtesy of winger Dylan Moses and inside centre Diego Visagie.
Strand’s line-out functioned well, thanks to stand-out players Eduardo Titus and Cameron Julies. But Kylemore came back strongly in the second half, enjoying possession and territorial advantage, in the process scoring three converted tries.
But Liga scored three more tries with captain Riyaad Adams (2) and Moses dotting down and Bradley Robertson converting one to secure victory. The men in blue will take on CPUT in the SLC final this weekend at a venue to be confirmed.
- St George’s romped to an 18-13 victory over Hands & Heart, scoring the bulk of their points, including two tries by Junaid Phillips and Rudi Abrahams and a penalty kick by Patrick van Wyk in the first half.
H&H fought back bravely in the second half but fierce defending in the dying minutes ensured victory for the Lulu Boys, whose chairperson Janine de Lange was overjoyed by the result.
“We are super excited about our promotion to Super League A (SLA). We started the season on a low, but we believed that we can [fight back]. The dedication and fighting spirit of all our players show character of the Lulus. Our under-20s ended fourth and our second team are league winners. I’m super proud of all our teams,” she said.
- Helderberg won promotion to SLA with an emphatic 44-17 victory over Belhar. Their return to SLA will be their first time since 2015 and their 14th campaign.
Berge tallied points on the scoreboard from the second minute of the game with a touchdown by Nigel Patrick. Tries followed at regular intervals in the first half thanks to brilliant individual and team play. Tries were scored by Danvino Swartland (2) and Schalk Burger.
A late comeback in the half saw Belhar score two tries to close the gap, but a revitalised Berge dominated the second half. Patrick and Swartland both scored again, while Michael Visser had a great performance with the boot.
The SLB final will be another tough affair with Berge taking on St George’s.
