Despatch up to the task
[caption id="attachment_74073" align="alignright" width="199"] READY TO RUMBLE: Pine Brown will be a key player for Despatch when they clash with Durban Collegians in a Community Cup match in Despatch tomorrow -[/caption]
Unbeaten Eastern Cape side clash with KwaZulu-Natal champs Collegians
DESPATCH want to maintain their impressive unbeaten record when they clash with Durban Collegians in their final Pool D match in the Community Cup at the PW de Wet Stadium in Despatch tomorrow.
The 2013 champions have been unstoppable this year and, after three consecutive wins, head coach Adri Geldenhuys has warned his team that the tournament is tough and only the fit will survive.
“Execution will be of paramount importance and good defence can win you matches nine times out of 10. Those are the key areas for Despatch,” he said.
In Pool D, three teams could possibly finish on 15 points, thereby requiring tie-breakers to see who goes through in this tightly contested race for top spot.
Wesbank’s last-gasp try in Welkom last week means that third-placed Collegians have a monumental task ahead of them.
The KwaZulu-Natal champions must travel to Despatch, beat the home team with a bonus point, and deny the Eastern Cape side any points.
A single bonus point for Despatch will not only guarantee their passage into the quarterfinals but also that of Wesbank.
The reason is that should Collegians and Wesbank finish joint second on 15 points, it will be the Bolanders, who advance even if they have an inferior points difference.
This is because the tournament rules state that it is the winners of the match between the two teams who will prevail.
In this case Wesbank’s 34-20 win over Collegians in Malmesbury in round three would prove crucial.
With so much to play for tensions will be high as the top teams bid to qualify for the Eastern playoffs in Rustenburg from April 2-6 at the Impala Club.
Six of the eight playoff spots are still up for grabs going into the final weekend after a penultimate round of pool action.
Defending champions Rustenburg Impala and Pretoria Police are the only teams guaranteed of packing their bags for Sun City, where the sides who will contest this year’s knockout stages will be based.
Police finished Pool B unbeaten after routing secondplaced Raiders 54-31 at the Bill Jardine Stadium in a match which produced 13 tries. And in Pool A, hosts Impala raced into a 52-0 half-time lead over Springs before running out 78-7 victors.
Results across the four pools mean that 10 teams will fight it out for six places in the final round, with the very real possibility of points difference and other tie-breaking mechanisms being required to separate a number of potential logjams.
The Despatch team: Justin Peach, Billy Mintoor, Basil de Doncker, Siviwe Magaba, Andile Witbooi, Pine Brown, Leslie Luiters, Jaco Swanepoel, Elroy Ligman, Michael Vermaak, Ashley Viviers, Hendrick van Tonder, Dyllan Lamprecht, Stepan Deyzel, Robert Slabbert. Replacements: Bobby Dyer, Ayanda Nogampula, Dumisa Meslane, Dalton Davis, Marlon Lewis, Francouis Nel, Baldwin McBean
-George Byron
