EP’s Elephants are facing an anxious wait on the sidelines as their bid to gain promotion to the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division hangs by the thinnest of threads.
A 23-13 defeat against the Griffons on Saturday means EP’s fate is no longer in their own hands and they must rely on the Falcons doing them a favour in Brakpan on Saturday.
The Elephants, who have completed their promotion league programme, will be keeping an anxious eye on proceedings when the Griffons end their season with an away match against the Falcons.
EP’s slim hopes of gaining promotion rest on the Falcons winning and also denying the Griffons a losing bonus point.
The Griffons, with a game in hand, trail EP by one point on the log.
EP went into Saturday’s clash with high hopes of clinching promotion by recording a sixth consecutive win in front of an expectant crowd at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Both teams boasted unbeaten records and the game was billed as a high-stakes Currie Cup promotion final.
EP, however, came unstuck against a streetwise Griffons side who stayed in the fight against an Elephants team who were not on song.
Afterwards, disappointed EP coach Dumisani Mhani said his players had panicked on a day when nothing went their way.
While EP continue to cling to the hope that the Falcons can do them a favour, their season is far from over, even if they fail to win promotion to the top tier of SA Rugby.
On Sunday, they face the Zimbabwe Goshawks at the NMB Stadium in a bid to make the First Division playoffs in another competition not linked to the promotion league.
EP skipper Garrick Mattheus has urged his team to pick themselves up after the galling defeat to the Griffons.
His team are well placed to make the playoffs and are in second spot on the log with 26 points from seven games.
The log-leading Griffons have accumulated 39 points from eight outings.
It will be a rollercoaster ride for EP when the season reaches a climax over the next few weeks.
HeraldLIVE