EP get taste of victory and now want more

PROUD EP Elephants coach Ryan Felix said his players will be prepared to run through a brick wall for him when they square up against the Boland Cavaliers at the Despatch Rugby Club on Saturday.

Felix was talking after his team beat the Border Bulldogs 26-15 in their last outing to give themselves a chance of moving off the bottom of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge log.

Apart from a sparkling try from man-of-the-match Michael Botha, there were also fivepointers from Xandre Vos, Anele Lungisa and Riaan Arends as EP turned the tables on Border.

“I was so stoked for the players because of the hard work they put in,” said Felix.

“I give them a tough time at training, but they do not complain. Even if I tell them to run through a brick wall they will do that for the team.

“I asked them to give an 80minute performance against Border and that is exactly what they did,” said Felix.

“I also told them to up the ante on defence and they responded well.

“Our loose trio also made a made a huge difference in the game.”

Felix said his team would refocus after the Border victory.

“The players told me that they are going to go all out to win our final game against Boland to get off the bottom of the log. This win has given the players new spirit.

“Through adversity they stood together from the outset. Even when we were losing they never complained about conditions. They all kept grafting for the province.”

Thanks to their win the Elephants have 10 points from seven outings, just one point less than Border who have completed their fixtures.

Boland, with 21 points from seven outings, are third in the standings and in with a chance of making the playoffs.

The 15 teams in the competition are divided into three regional pools (North, South and Central) of five teams.

The top two teams from each pool, along with the two thirdplaced teams with the best record, will progress to the playoffs.