Baysville double header headlines Super 14 round 3
The Eastern Cape Super 14 double header at Baysville Schoolgrounds between Ncera Leopards against Kruisfontein (2.15pm) and later Old Selbornians playing against Gardens (3.30pm) will headline round three of the provincial competition.
Ncera will continue to search for their first win of the competition, however, it will face a mountainous task as they will have to play at a neutral venue for the second consecutive match with the side still struggling to find a home venue.
Last Saturday, they were leading 14-5 at half-time and looking for an upset win against the defending champions Progress.
They had dictated the tempo of the match, but in the last 20 minutes Progress came storming back and scored two tries.
They will face Group A leaders Kruisfontein who produced an impressive display on the road against Gardens as they beat them 22-15.
“We have never played against Kruisfontein but what we have gathered from their matches in the competition is that they are a side that likes to play quick ball and let their backline do the work,” Ncera Leopards head coach Andrico van Wyk said.
“We will have to use a similar game plan from the Progress game and try to beat them up forward and dominate in our set pieces,” he said.
It will be a top of the table clash between EL Police and Jeffreys Bay at Police Park.
The two teams are unbeaten in the competition in Group A.
Newcomers Jeffreys Bay made it two wins out of two when they roared to a convincing 23-6 win over Young Leopards while EL Police provided further proof that they will be among the front-runners to advance to the knockout stage when they beat Swallows 126 last weekend.
Ntlaza Lions who did not play last weekend because their game against George Crusaders was postponed, will travel to Bergsig Sports Ground to face Kirkwood.
Kirkwood was beaten 18-12 by a chastened Harlequins side.
At Ducats Fields, Young Leopards will square it off against a Swallows side that will be eager to get their campaign off the mark after their close defeats to Police and Jeffereys Bay. Leopards will also hope to gain their first win of the campaign and impress in their first home match at Ducats.
Wildcards Moonlight will travel to Central Rugby Ground and face defending champions Progress.
The Kariega side had to overturn a half-time deficit before beating Ncera Leopards 20-14.
There were some anxious moments for the champions who trailed 14-5 at the break against a fired-up Leopards side who had hoped to pull off an upset victory. All matches have 3pm kick-offs. The other Saturday’s fixtures are George Crusaders v Harlequins (Parkdene). The entrance fee is R20 at all fields.