Kruisfontein United roar to sixth straight victory
● Humansdorp side in unstoppable form in EPRU Grand Challenge
Kruisfontein United’s welloiled rugby machine turned on the afterburners when they roared to an emphatic 38-5 victory over Spring Rose in an EPRU Grand Challenge match on Saturday.
It was one-way traffic at the New Brighton Oval when Kruisfontein registered their sixth straight win to cement their position at the top of Group C.
The Humansdorp side have been in unstoppable form and they look set to extend their winning streak when they host a struggling Police-Crusaders outfit at their Sports Complex fortress on Saturday.
So far Kruisfontein have beaten Joubertina United, United Barbarians, Star of Hope, Park, Kareedouw Tigers and Spring Rose in a sequence of impressive victories.
Spring Rose had been hoping to build on an 11-9 win over Police-Crusaders last week, but they had no answer to the sustained Kruisfontein onslaught.
The New Brighton side will have to regroup quickly after this setback before they face Joubertina United in their next outing on Saturday.
Champions Progress were another team who maintained their unbeaten record when they beat Born Fighters 22-0 in Somerset East.
The Kariega side have now won five matches on the spin and all eyes will be on their encounter against Trying Stars at the Central Field on Saturday.
Stars, who had a bye this weekend, are unbeaten after four outings.
After successive defeats to Kruisfontein and Joubertina, Park got back on the winning track when they overcame a feisty United Barbarians side 45-21 at Londt Park.
Park led 24-7 at halftime and will take confidence from this display into their next outing against Star of Hope at the Jabavu Stadium on Saturday.
The big match in Group B saw Central slump to a 31-10 defeat to Gardens at the Derrick Ferreira Stadium.
Gardens have now leapfrogged Central on the table and are top of the group with an advantage of a game in hand.
Third-placed Harlequins stayed in the hunt for group honours when registered an impressive 45-16 win over Evergreens in Cradock.
After the disappointment of having their game against Gardens postponed two weeks ago, Harlequins returned to action with a 62-36 victory over Motherwell last week.
Undeterred by last week’s setback, Motherwell showed they remain a force to be reckoned with when they beat Suburban 18-11 on Saturday.
In a thrilling match at Daleview, Despatch Oostelikes’ unbeaten run of four matches ended when they were beaten 41-40 by the NMU Madibaz.
This result has thrown Group D wide open and a tense tussle for supremacy will develop in round two.
In other hard-fought matches in the group, Kwaru edged Orlando Eagles 34-33 in Thornhill and Hankey Villagers snatched a dramatic 27-26 win against Jeffreys Bay.
An extra edge to the competitive nature of the league has been added after it was decided the leading three clubs in each group will make up the top 12 in 2024.
The remaining clubs will form a middle league of 12 teams and the lower league will comprise eight sides. Results:
Group A: Born Fighters 0 Progress 22, Brumbies 38 Windvogel 0, Despatch 18 Missionvale 21.
Group B: Evergreens 16 Harlequins 45, Gardens 31 Central 10, Motherwell 18 Suburban 11.
Group C: Spring Rose 5 Kruisfontein United 38, Park 45 United Barbarians 21. Group D: Orlando Eagles 33 Kwaru 34, Jeffreys Bay 26 Hankey Villagers 27, Despatch Oostelikes 40 NMU Madibaz 41.
Saturday’s fixtures:
Group A: Born Fighters v Progress (Somerset East), Makhanda Brumbies v Windvogel United (Makhanda Oval), Despatch v Missionvale (De Wet Stadium).
Group B: Evergreens v Harlequins (Cradock), Motherwell v Suburban (Mothwerwell), Gardens v Central (Derick Ferreira),
Group C: Spring Rose v Kruisfontein United (New Brighton Oval), Kareedouw Tigers Joubertina United (Kareedouw), Park v United Barbarians (Londt Park). Group D: Despatch Oostelikes v NMU Madibaz (Daleview), Orlando Eagles v Kwaru (Thornhill), Jeffreys Bay v Hankey Villagers (venue to be decided).