Kia Vipers do Komani proud at Cape Town 10s
Nothing but rave reviews described the Kia Vipers at the Cape Town 10s after the Komani based team reached the plate final, and in so doing, exceeded all expectations.
They played with grit, hunger and enthusiasm and were clear favourites with the fans. In an event that is the biggest in South Africa, with more than 350 teams participating in various sporting codes, Vipers represented Komani by virtue of winning the HPJOC 10s which gave them free entry to the spectacular event.
Vipers played in the premier league section, the highest for rugby at the event, and were drawn in Group B.
This group had former champions Monument Old Boys, current Gold Cup champions False Bay and Northwest Globetrotters. It was a very tough group from the outset. Group A consisted of Tygerberg, Miwater Living Legends, Westbank Sevens Invitational and SK Walmers.
Vipers started by showing no respect to defending champions Old Boys and hammered them
28-5. Charlie Ewerts dotted down twice with Gaga Oosthuizen and Kelvano King also on the scoresheet. They continued their winning streak by beating Globetrotters 26-7. Kelvano King scored again and so did Oosthuizen, Charlie Ewerts and Flinn Cannon.
Their last match in the group stages was against False Bay, who beat the Komani outfit
24-5. Vipers ended the group in second place on 8 points with False Bay first on 12.
Day two was the knockout phase of the tournament. Vipers won 21-14 in their quarterfinal match against Westbank Invitational to reach the semifinals on debut. However, there was heartbreak in the semifinals against Tygerberg.
After fighting valiantly against one of the favourites, the match ended at 5-5. Vipers crashed out due to an inferior points differential to Tygerberg after points accumulated in the group stages were the determining factor of which of the two teams proceeded to the final. Tygerberg had amassed 12 points while Vipers had 8.
Vipers lost in the plate final by 26-5 to Miwater Living Legends.
Tygerberg were crowned champions after beating False Bay in a closely contested final. The Kia technical team of Ashley Smith, Laistyre Kroutz, Nathan van Dyk, Nathan Johannes and Brian Williams can be very proud of the team’s performances.
It will surely inspire all other teams to give their very best in November’s edition of the HPJOC 10s to get a free ticket to the Cape Town 10s in 2020.