Defending African Rainbow Community Gold Cup champions, Naka Bulle from Pretoria, as well as College Rovers and Northam Rhinos claimed big wins on the opening weekend of South Africa’s premier club tournament.
Quarter-final spots will be up for grabs when the top teams collide in the Round of 16 this weekend, although there were disruptions to the scheduling with eligibility cases against four of the teams.
The African Rainbow Community Gold Cup kicked off this past weekend at venues around the country. The single-elimination knockout competition will be staged over five weeks, with the final scheduled for 19 October.
Naka Bulle, one of the teams affected by the eligibility hearings, got their title defence off to the best possible start when they beat Sishen 107-0 in Pretoria on Saturday, scoring 16 tries in the process, with Christoff Craill (hooker) bagging a hat-trick.
Northam Rhinos, who progressed to the semi-finals of last year’s tournament, racked up the biggest numbers of the round, scoring 22 tries in a 130-7 win over Bloemfontein Collegians in Setaria, with wingers Warren Williams and Elzandro Fredericks scoring four tries apiece.
Centurion thumped Welkom Rovers 108-0 at home, with fullback Gaybrin Smith contributing 31 points.
In the final match of the weekend, staged in Durban on Sunday, College Rovers – runners-up in 2023 – cruised to a 97-5 win over Young Leopards, with their midfielders, Malcolm Cele and Caleb Dingaan each dotting down three times.
Several other matches were more closely contested. Hamiltons edged Gardens by 38-31 in Uitenhage, while the boot of Aidynn Cupido proved decisive in Pirates’ 23-18 away win at Barberton Rugby Club.
Groot-Brakrivier, Helderberg, Capital Legacy Crusaders, Tuine, Louis Trichardt, Kimberley Rugby Club, Safcol United, Northam Wolves and Springs were also on the winning side and will feature in the Round of 16 this weekend.
Randfontein and Hamiltons, however, were both disqualified from the competition after fielding players that were not eligible to play for them under the rules of the competition, and although they won their games, those results were expunged.
Despite losing to Randfontein, Sasol Secunda will progress to the next round, where they will face Louis Trichardt, while a final call on the eighth match, involving Naka Bulle and Gardens, will be made pending the outcome of eligibility cases against both clubs.
All seven confirmed matches in the Round of 16 are scheduled to kick off at 15h00 on Saturday afternoon, while four of them will be streamed live on the SuperSport Schools app and website as the sides battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals.
Round of 32 results:
VR Cargo Barberton 19-23 Pirates
Randfontein 22-10 Sasol Secunda (result expunged)
Groot-Brakrivier 48-27 Robertson
Helderberg 43-22 Kruisfontein United
East London Police 30-52 Capital Legacy Crusaders
Gardens RFC 31-38 Hamiltons (result expunged)
Centurion 108-00 Welkom Rovers
Northam Rhinos 130-07 Bloemfontein Collegians
Welkom 17-24 Tuine
Louis Trichardt 48-23 Bloemfontein Police
Springs 36-19 Sibanye Stillwater
Naka Bulle 107-00 Sishen
Kimberley Rugby Club 38-29 Swallows
Safcol United 31-07 Heidelberg
Northam Wolves 48-14 NWU Vaal
College Rovers 97-05 Young Leopards
Round of 16 fixtures (28/29 September):
15h00: Capital Legacy Crusaders v Groot-Brakrivier (Crusaders Rugby Club, Durban) *
15h00: Louis Trichardt v Sasol Secunda (Louis Trichardt Rugby Club, Louis Trichardt)
15h00: Centurion v Springs (Centurion Rugby Club) *
15h00: Helderberg v Kimberley Rugby Club (Charles Morkel Stadium, Strand)
15h00: Northam Rhinos v Pirates (Setaria Recreation Club, Setaria)
15h00: College Rovers v Safcol United (Hollywoodbets Kings Park 3, Durban) *
15h00: Northam Wolves v Tuine (Millstream River Estate, Hartebeespoort) *
* Streamed live on SuperSport Schools