Western Province club sides, Hamiltons and Durbanville-Bellville, are both through to the semifinals of the 2015 Cell C Community Cup.
The first day’s play was tightly-contested as the teams gave everything to book a place in the semifinals on Saturday for a chance to win the title and the historic Gold Cup.
Hosts Rustenburg Impala defeated Pretoria Police 30-28 in a nailbiting match to close the opening day’s play in front of a passionate home crowd, while Hamiltons beat Wesbank 34-26 in the opening match.
Durb-Bell, meanwhile, edged Jonsson College Rovers 30-25 and GAP Management Despatch defeated Vaseline Wanderers 25-14.
Unfortunately for Wesbank and Jonsson College Rovers missed opportunities cost them, while Hamiltons and Durb-Bell did well to soak up the pressure applied by the opposition and capitalised on their chances.
GAP Management Despatch and Rustenburg Impala, meanwhile, had to work hard for their victories as Vaseline Wanderers and Pretoria Police put their bodies on the line, but the latter’s determined efforts were not enough to push them ahead on the scoreboard.
Durb-Bell will now take on GAP Management Despatch in Saturday’s first semifinal (at 14h00), before Hamiltons take on reigning champions, Rustenburg Impala, in the second semifinal at 16h00.
Hamiltons 34 (10) Wesbank 26 (15)
Hamiltons stamped their authority early on against Wesbank as their pack dominated up-front, which allowed them to cross the tryline in the 4th minute thanks to No.8 Jody Burch for a 7-0 lead.
Wesbank wing Ronnie Appolis hit back minutes later after receiving a solid pass in space and he used his pace to tip-toe his way around the defence. With both tries converted the scores were level at 7-7.
Hamiltons flyhalf Monty Dumond extended their lead to 10-7 minutes later thanks to a penalty. This lead was cancelled out by Wesbank scrumhalf Dashton Wellman, who slotted over a penalty in the 28th minute, which was followed up by a try by his teammate Chrislyn van Schalkwyk for a 15-0 half-time lead.
Hamiltons came out firing in the second half and scored two tries in the first seven minutes compliments of Earl Lewis and Francois Esterhuyzen, which pushed them into a 25-15 lead.
Wesbank replied with a penalty in the 53rd minute which they backed up with a fantastic try by fullback Anvon Davids, who collected his own grubber, but an unsuccessful conversion left them trailing 25-23.
The final quarter, however, was dominated by Hamiltons who slotted over three penalties to only one by Wesbank, which sealed the 34-26 victory for the Cape side.
Scorers:
Hamiltons: Tries: Earl Lewis, Francois Esterhuyzen, Jody Burch. Conversions: Monty Dumond (2). Penalties: Monty Dumond (4), Shane Vallender.
Wesbank: Tries: Anvon Davids, Chrislyn van Schalkwyk, Ronnie Appolis. Conversions: Dashton Wellman. Penalties: Dashton Wellman (3).
Durbanville-Bellville 30 (17) Jonsson College Rovers 25 (11)
The clash between Jonsson College Rovers and Durbanville Bellville also got off to a tight start as each team scored a try in the first 10 minutes, but a successful conversion by Durb-Bell earned them a 7-5 lead.
Rovers captain Chris Micklewood slotted over a penalty minutes later to take a narrow 8-7 lead. This, however, was shortlived as Durb-Bell flank Marius White received the ball in front of the tryline after his teammates drew the defence out wide to score their second try of the match, which Raymond Olivier converted to push their tally to 14 points.
The Cape side added a penalty minutes later to extend their lead to nine points, but Micklewood closed the gap to 17-11 on the stroke of half-time with a handy penalty.
Durb-Bell picked up in the second half where they left off as Olivier kicked another penalty and converted a try by Danwel Demas to stretch their lead to 27-11.
Rovers, however, bounced back with a try by TC Khoza, which Micklewood converted to close the gap. But a penalty by Durb-Bell stretched their lead to 12 points.
With the clock winding down Rovers chipped away at the Durb-Bell defence and their efforts paid off in the 72nd minute as Micklewood crossed the tryline and converted his own try to close the gap to 30-25.
But this was not enough to secure a victory as Durb-Bell held on until the final whistle to shut them out.
Scorers:
Durbanville-Bellville: Tries: Danwel Demas, Marius White, Marnus Hugo. Conversions: Raymond Olivier (3). Penalties: Raymond Olivier (3).
Jonsson College Rovers: Tries: Chris Jordaan, Chris Micklewood, TC Khoza. Conversions: Chris Micklewood (2). Penalties: Chris Micklewood (2).
GAP Management Despatch 25 (13) Vaseline Wanderers 14 (14)
GAP Management Despatch got their clash against Vaseline Wanderers off to a firing start as left wing Selwyn Davids used his raw pace and fantastic skill to dance his way through the defence for a 5-0 lead in the fifth minute.
Vaseline Wanderers fought back after a few tight exchanges thanks to their forwards with flank Dylan Rutherford forcing his way over the tryline from a pick-and-drive, and with the successful conversion they took a 7-5 lead.
Despatch hooker Stephan Deyzel, however, crashed over the tryline in the 19th minute for their second try. Wanderers were dealt a blow in the 22nd minute as Rutherford was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle, but despite this they managed to add to their score thanks to a try by scrumhalf Wesley Flanagan, who spotted a gap and dashed through to the tryline to hand the team a four-point lead.
Despatch flyhalf Francois Nel, however, closed the gap to 14-13 in the dying seconds of the first half with a penalty.
The second half was a hard grind as the teams threw everything at each other, but Despatch took advantage of their point-scoring chances, as they added two more tries to secure a 25-14 victory. They supported this with a solid defensive effort, which left Wanderers scoreless in the half.
Scorers:
GAP Management Despatch: Tries: Francois Nel, Morné Labuschagne, Selvyn Davids, Stephan Deyzel. Conversions: Justin Peach. Penalties: Francois Nel.
Vaseline Wanderers: Tries: Dylan Rutherford, Wesley Flanagan. Conversions: Craig Kolarik (2).
Rustenburg Impala 30 Pretoria Police 28
Defending champions Rustenburg Impala stamped their authority in the first minute against Pretoria Police with a try by centre Aubrey McDonald who hung back on attack and gathered the ball in space. This earned them a 5-0 lead.
Pretoria Police hit back with a penalty, but a converted try by Rustenburg Impala right wing Morne Jooste who dashed up the right wing, forced the hosts into a 13-3 lead. The teams were reduced to 14 players a side in the 13th minute as McDonald was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle, while Pretoria Police centre Heinrich Rademeyer received a yellow card for charging into a ruck.
Rustenburg Impala added a penalty to their score to build a seven-point lead going into the second quarter.
Impala flyhalf Cecil Dumond added their third try in the 31st minute thanks to a dummy pass after receiving the ball out wide following several phases, which handed the hosts a 20-6 lead. Pretoria Police, however, clawed their way back into the match with a late try by right wing Ruan van Loo to reduce their deficit to 20-13 at the break.
Pretoria Police built on this momentum early in the second half as wing Michael Nienaber scored another five-pointer, which allowed them to level the scores at 20-20. Rustenburg Impala strung together several phases in the following exchanges and earned the rewards as No.8 Leon du Plessis crossed the tryline to edge them back into the lead.
The final quarter was hard-fought as the teams refused to give an inch, and Pretoria Police scored a valuable penalty shortly before the final quarter to trail by only four points.
A yellow card for Pretoria Police scrumhalf Hendrik van der Nest for stamping on an opposition player’s hand at a ruck, however, reduced them to 14 men at a critical stage of the match.
Rustenburg Impala almost sealed the victory with an intercept try five minutes from time, but a tip tackle by wing Dumisani Matyeshana resulted in the try being reversed and the player receiving a yellow card.
This bolstered Pretoria Police’s confidence and they scored a try with two minutes to go thanks to replacement back Elvis Noludwe, which nudged them ahead 28-27. A penalty on the stroke of full-time by Impala’s Wilco De Wet, however, snatched a 30-28 victory at the death.
Scorers:
Rustenburg Impala: Tries: Aubrey McDonald , Cecil Dumond, Leon du Plessis. Conversions: Morné Jooste, Willie Kok (2). Penalties: Cecil Dumond, Willie Kok (2).
Pretoria Police: Tries: Elvis Noludwe, Michael Nienaber, Ruan van Loo. Conversions: Dillon Laubscher (2). Penalties: Dillan Laubscher (3).
2015 CELL C COMMUNITY CUP DAY TWO FIXTURES (SATURDAY, APRIL 4):
10h00 – Vaseline Wanderers v Jonsson College Rovers
12h00 – Wesbank v Pretoria Police
14h00 – GAP Management Despatch v Durb-Bell (semifinal 1)
16h00 – Hamiltons v Rustenburg Impala (semifinal 2)
