Old Boys in a League of their own
MPM Old Selbornians are the 2017 Border Super League Champions after they triumphed in an epic encounter against the University of Fort Hare Blues over the past weekend.
Old Boys came from behind to edge the university side 23-20 at the Davidson Rugby Stadium in Alice, to seal the title with a game to spare after taking an unassailable lead at the top of the Super League standings.
“I am immensely proud of the performance the guys put out. We were being dominated in the tight contest, but we really took control of the game in the last quarter and proved why we deserved to win the league,” said Old Boys coach James Winstanley.
“Full credit to Fort Hare. That was an enormous contest and they were full value on the day, but we just had enough in the end.”
Old Boys’ closest rivals, Swallows, claimed a massive 58-14 win over Cambridge on the weekend to move onto 39 points on the log. However, they needed the Blues to upset Old Boys, as the win saw Old Boys move to 47 points, with just one group stage match left.
Old Boys thus will replace Swallows, who are the 2016 Super League Champs, as the new 2017 champions.
It is a deserved honour for Old Boys as they have gone through this year’s league campaign unbeaten so far, with 10 wins out of 10 and having picked up 47 out of a possible 50 points.
Old Boys held a tight 8-7 lead at the halftime break, before the Blues came back to take a 20-8 lead, with Old Boys then fighting back to steal the win at the death.
As winners of this year’s Super League, Old Boys will represent Border in the annual Gold Cup club tournament later in the year, with the best club sides around the country battling it out for glory.
“The goal was always to make the Gold Cup and we had to earn it this season,” said Winstanley.
“We will take a lot of confidence out of how we have played this season. We have finished strong in the last quarter in every game we have played so it is a definite trend and shows we know how to play in the dying minutes.”
In other results over the weekend Police thumped Ntlaza Lions 45-0, Breakers beat Buffs 15-12 and Winter Rose upset WSU 13-8.
In previous years the Border Super League has gone to knockouts after the group stage, with the top four teams playing the semifinals and then the winners moving onto the final to find the official champion.
However, this year has seen a change, with the top team at the end of the group stage crowned Super League champion and qualifying for the Gold Cup.
The top eight teams on the log at the end of the group stage then go into the Presidents Cup knockouts.
The final weekend of Border Super League action before the Presidents Cup will take place on July 29. However, this coming weekend will see a monster clash between Old Boys and Swallows as part of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge, with the top two teams in this year’s league looking to put on a show in their final game.