Arresting challenge for Police
Tough game against Sishen lies ahead After surviving a close scare at the hands of rivals East London Police last week, Don’s Pawnshop Port Elizabeth Police will now shift focus to their final Saru Gold Cup group rugby fixture against Sishen in Kathu tomorrow.
“We will be changing our plans as we got some very useful info from the EL Police and Pretoria Police on their style and way that they play,” PE Police manager Marius van der Walt said. The PE bobbies were forced to chase the game from the first whistle as they were troubled by the EL Police attack. According to Van der Walt, their defence is an aspect that they will be looking at. “Our defence is usually our strong point but it let us down in the first half last week,” he said. “We will be concentrating on it during the week. “We will not change much, we will just have to communicate and execute a lot better,” Van der Walt said. The PE Police will face a Sishen side who beat the EL Police 30-18 two weeks ago. With the match being played away, the bobbies will have a tough time adjusting to the altitude of the Northern Cape and the long bus trip to Kathu.
If the bobbies manage to secure all five points, they will play Brakpan or False Bay in the quarterfinals. The game will be played away as PE Police can only qualify as the second-placed team in pool D. Meanwhile, the Mayoral Cup is set to kick off with Grand Challenge finalists PE Harlequins and New Brighton juggernauts Spring Rose taking each other on at St George’s Park at 2pm tomorrow. Harlequins will be looking to avenge their heartbreaking loss against Gardens in the Grand Challenge final in Uitenhage last month. The next fixture will see the home side Crusaders lock horns with Evergreens Krakeel at 3.30pm. Pool B in division one will feature champions Gardens, Progress, Windvogel and Suburbans, while Pool A has Spring Rose, African Bombers, Crusaders and Gelvan Wallabies battling for silverware this season. Evergreens Krakeel will be looking for redemption in this cup, as they finished as the lowest top-flight team in the Grand Challenge this season. Grand Challenge Shield champions Despatch Oostelike will be favourites to win division two this year after they beat United Barbarians in the Shield final at Kemsley Park last month. The shield champions will kick off their campaign in Daleview against Kabah, in their first fixture week of the tournament. The playoff stages will see the teams from the different divisions face each other in cross-pool clashes, with the final set to be played on November 12.
