Progress humiliate Old Collegians in Uitenhage
A RUTHLESS Progress, who went into their Eastern Cape Super 12 club rugby match in Uitenhage having already qualified for the knockout stages as Group B winners, ran in 13 tries to humiliate Old Collegians at the weekend.
The Queenstown outfit never posed any real threat to high-flying Progress as the hosts started the encounter like a house on fire. They comfortably led 34-0 at the break.
Not satisfied with the halftime lead, last year's finalists pushed forward for more points and sent a strong message to their quarterfinal opponents, who must still be ratified.
At the Adcock Stadium, East London Police crossed the tryline five times to claim an easy 40-19 victory over champions Harlequins.
The first 40 minutes were closely contested as Police took a slim 19-14 halftime lead.
But in the second half, the northern areas team's ill-discipline cost them as they received red and yellow cards.
The well-drilled East London side took full advantage of the situation and stuck to the basics.
An outstanding performance took Police to second place with a game still to play.
Caltex Crusaders edged Winter Rose 24-10, moving to third position in their group with the bonus point they gained, ahead of Quins.
Despite the victory, Saders will be concerned about handling errors that seem to be part of their game this season.
They led 14-3 after 40 minutes and could have won by a wider margin, but they let Rose off the hook, managing only a further 10 points.
In Group A, leaders Gardens strengthened their position at the top with a well-deserved 32-17 victory against Cambridge on the road.
The Rosedale outfit, who have been superb this season, drew first blood and went to the break leading 20-0.
Playing against the wind in the second half, the visitors were tested to the limit as the hosts threw everything at them.
But they showed their character and hunger for success by ending the game off with two more tries to complete the bonus-point victory.
Walter Sisulu University (WSU) stunned Kruisfontein 31-19 at their Potsdam campus, outside East London.
Perhaps the injury of their scrumhalf in the first minute destabilised the Humansdorp side's game plan.
Kruisfontein took the game to WSU but the hosts managed to sneak in two late tries, using their speedy wings to bring Kruisfontein crashing back to earth.
At Grens High in East London, African Bombers claimed a 27-17 win over Buffaloes.
It was Bombers' second consecutive bonus-point win, taking them to third place.
They dominated the game from the outset and led 10-0 at half time.
