Progress hammered 54-27 by Cape side
PROGRESS RFC crashed to a 54-27 defeat at the hands of wildcards Tygerberg RFC in the first round of the Gold Cup competition at Florida Park in Cape Town on Sunday.
The Uitenhage side started their campaign on a bad foot after conceding a disappointing seven tries from the Tygerberg team.
Progress will need to beef up their defence to survive the axe in the series.
Discipline also proved to be a problem for Progress as they conceded three penalties in the first 15 minutes.
The Cape Town side shocked everyone with their running the ball forward tactic that collapsed the Progress defence.
Progress coach Mervin Samuels said: “This was a very disappointing start in the competition for us.
“A lot went wrong in the first half with our defensive lines, and we intend on working on this thoroughly. We also need to work on our mental strength as a team, so that we don’t choke in a tournament of this stature.”
Meanwhile, in the other Gold Cup games, Northham Rhinos RFC won their first-ever cup clash with 27-21 over Vaal Reefs and Georgia RFC made a huge statement with their 57-36 win over Raiders RFC from Harare, in Zimbabwe.
Swallows. who also come into the competition as wildcards, managed a narrow 25-24 victory against Old Selbornians in their Imonti derby.
Hydra Arc made a perfect debut in the tournament with a 40-24 victory over Welkom RFC.
Last year’s finalists, False Bay RFC, started their campaign with a convincing 43-19 win when they beat Roses United.
Go Nuts RFC did not hold anything back when they thrashed Western Suburbs 46-17.
Defending champions Impala RFC secured a hard-fought win when they beat Polisie RFC .
Progress are now at number four on their pool C group of fixtures with just one point.
They will take on an experienced Swallows RFC from East London on Saturday.
A lot went wrong in the first half with our defensive lines