WP, Central face off, wary of Boland

WESTERN Province and Central Gauteng will face off in today’s final round of the South African Inter-Provincial in what promises to be an epic battle for supremacy but, while the big dogs fight about the bone, Boland could sneak in the back door.

Central Gauteng moved to the top of the log with six points after drilling Gauteng North 8½-3½ at Port Elizabeth Golf Club yesterday.

The defending champions share the lead with Province, who drummed KwaZuluNatal 8-4 but have a slender half-point edge with 29½ games.

But, while the defending champions and last year’s runners-up go head to head, they can’t afford to take their eyes off Boland, who snuck to six points and 26½ games after beating Limpopo 7-5.

“If the match between Province and Central ends in a draw and we beat KwaZulu-Natal with a half-decent score, we can still take the title,” said Boland manager Servaas de Kock.

“That’s what happened in last year’s final round. Central and Gauteng North were going guns blazing, and Province snuck in to finish second.

“It’s going to be very tight between those two [ WP and Central], but we can’t worry about them. If we take our eye off the ball, KZN could spoil our chances.”

Meanwhile the B-Section promotion hunt is nearly a foregone conclusion. Twelve months after they were sent back to the B-Section, Southern Cape executed a welllaid plan with five successive victories for 10 points and an almost unassailable lead with 42.5 games.

Despite a valiant effort from Eastern Province, who handed Border an 8½-3½ drumming and scored a 6½-5½ win over Mpumalanga, the host side trail by two points.