Rustenburg Impala, Hamiltons, Durbanville-Bellville and Despatch won their Community Cup quarter-finals in Rustenburg on Thursday.
The first day’s play at the Impala Rugby Club was tightly contested as the teams gave everything to book a place in the semi-finals on Saturday for a chance to win the title and the historic Gold Cup.
Hosts Rustenburg Impala defeated Pretoria Police 30-28 in a nail-biting 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.
Durbell, meanwhile, edged College Rovers 30-25 and Despatch defeated Wanderers 25-14.
Unfortunately for Wesbank and College Rovers missed opportunities cost them, while Hamiltons and Durbell did well to soak up the pressure applied by the opposition and capitalised on their chances.
Despatch and Rustenburg Impala, meanwhile, had to work hard for their victories as 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.
Hamiltons (34) – Tries: Earl Lewis, Francois Esterhuyzen, Jody Burch. Conversions: Monty Dumond (2). Penalties: Dumond (4), Shane Vallender.
Wesbank (26) – Tries: Anvon Davids, Chrislyn van Schalkwyk, Ronnie Appolis. Conversions: Dashton Wellman. Penalties: Wellman (3).
Durbanville-Bellville (30) – Tries: Danwel Demas, Marius White, Marnus Hugo. Conversions: Raymond Olivier (3). Penalties: Olivier (3).
College Rovers (25) – Tries: Chris Jordaan, Chris Micklewood, TC Khoza. Conversions: Chris Micklewood (2). Penalties: Micklewood (2).
Despatch (25) – Tries: Francois Nel, Morné Labuschagne, Selvyn Davids, Stephan Deyzel. Conversion: Justin Peach. Penalty: Francois Nel.
Wanderers (14) – Tries: Dylan Rutherford, Wesley Flanagan. Conversions: Craig Kolarik (2).
Rustenburg Impala (30) – Tries: Aubrey McDonald , Cecil Dumond, Leon du Plessis. Conversions: Morné Jooste, Willie Kok (2). Penalties: Cecil Dumond, Willie Kok (2).
Pretoria Police (28) – Tries: Elvis Noludwe, Michael Nienaber, Ruan van Loo. Conversions: Dillon Laubscher (2). Penalties: Laubscher (3).
Semi-final fixtures (4 April):
14:00 – Despatch vs Durbanville-Bellville
16:00 – Hamiltons vs Rustenburg Impala
Photo: ImageSA/Gallo Images/Saru
