Elephants to go for jugular
Pride to play for as EP tackle Border in M’sane
THE Border Bulldogs will be playing for pride when they host the Eastern Province Elephants in their final match of the 2018 SuperSport Rugby Challenge, in a festival being held at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Sunday.
Having been knocked out of the running for the quarterfinals over the past weekend, and with the Elephants also not able to progress, many would expect the match to be a dead rubber, but according to Bulldogs coach Tiger Mangweni, it is anything but.
“People might think it isn’t important because both teams can’t qualify, but it is still a big game for us,” said Mangweni.
“There is always something to play for when we play each other and it is often a close game, so it should be very exciting.”
The Bulldogs started this year’s competition with three losses in a row, before they claimed their first win of the competition against the Elephants and followed that up with a win over the Boland Cavaliers to drag them back into playoff contention.
However, successive losses to Western Province and the South Western District Eagles put paid to the slim hopes they had of making it to the next round.
“We did not play well in our first few matches and once we got a couple of wins we started playing better, and even in our recent losses the guys did well and there are a lot of positives to take out of those games,” said Mangweni.
With this being the Bulldogs’ last match of the tournament, while the Elephants have one more after it, the Bulldogs will also not want to give them a chance of getting ahead of them on the log and consigning the Bulldogs to the wooden spoon.
The home side also wants to finish on a high and take some momentum into their preparations for the Currie Cup First Division later this year.
“We want to build up for the Currie Cup on a high, so we really want to win this game. So it gives us a boost for our preparations, and also we will have won three matches in the competition which will mean something to us, considering our struggles before the season started,” said Mangweni.
“If we win we will secure fourth spot, so that is our goal now.”
The Elephants have lost all six of their matches in the competition so far, so they will be desperate to get a win and, having gone down 22-17 last time out against the Bulldogs, they know they have the game to challenge the Bulldogs for the win.
“Last time they attacked our breakdown very well, so that is something we have to sort out, and then we will look to play the expansive game we are known for,” said Mangweni.
Also on show at the festival will be a Border Super League club match between Black Eagles and Ntlaza Lions, which will get the day’s action under way, while the Sharks will then take on the Griquas in the second match, followed by the Bulldogs and Elephants rounding out the day’s play.
Entry will be free at the stadium.