Progress suffers painful defeat
Premier League hopes dashed
The dream of playing in the Premier League next season remained just that, a dream, after Komani team Progress suffered a painful 19-14 defeat at the hands of Komga United in the final of the Border promotional play-offs at the NU1 Stadium in Mdantsane, East London.
Instead the Amathole representative, Komga United, is celebrating their amazing achievement.
The victory for Marikana, as Komga United is known, is even sweeter after they suffered a 19-17 defeat against the same opposition the day before in the first round but sneaked through to the semifinals as the best losers. They will deservedly take their spot in the 12team Premier League next season.
Progress will be left with more questions than answers, after starting the play-offs on a positive note on Saturday, winning a tight match against Komga United. That was followed by Ngcele United’s 35-0 thrashing of Matatiele. Young Leopards made light work of Mqanduli Sharks, winning 193. The stage was set for a fantastic day of rugby on the Sunday, with Progress hunting for a spot in the final. Their first assignment was Young Leopards, whom they beat 17-14 to book their spot in the final. Komga United came out a different team, beating the more fancied Ngcele United 21-13 to set up a rematch against Progress.
Progress’s fairytale was cut short by a more determined Marikana who overturned Saturday’s result after starting the final as the underdogs.
Luck seems to evade Progress, who has failed on a previous occasion to gain promotion to the Premier League. It is not through lack of trying, but they keep on faltering when it matters most. Is it a psychological issue or is the i region just not strong enough? Did they even deserve to be at the play-offs?
The answer is a simple no. While all the other five regions had a solid league schedule, the Chris Hani District Rugby Union (CHDRU) league was in shambles, dysfunctional with no proper structures.
CHDRU has had an interim structure for the better part of eight months with no office, bank account or sub-committees, maladministration and no proper records.
Only six teams started the league season, with three abandoning the league mid-way through. Teams like Blue Birds and Blue Buffs did not even play a single match. Tarka Stars had only one match to show for the entire season. Old Collegians only played four matches (five with the re-match), Progress three matches (four in total with the re-match), and WSU Pythons played four matches. In a total of 60 scheduled matches, a paltry 14 matches took place the entire season, a total catastrophe. There was no under20 structures, except a hastily arranged one-day sporting event for U20 teams.
The sooner the region gets its house in order, the better, as at this moment rugby in Komani is in a rapid decline.
Breakers, for the first time in years, failed to make it into the EC Super 14 and were embattled in a relegation dog fight in the Super League. Shining Stars survived relegation by the skin of their teeth in the Premier League last season. Two top Komani clubs, Old Collegians and Progress, find themselves in the doldrums of the First Division.
Rugby administrators in the region must put their egos aside. It is high time people with the proper know-how, with administrative backgrounds, are selected in positions of higher authority to run rugby matters, not those who want self-enrichment, self-entitlement, and who want to push their personal rugby agenda at the expense of the rugby-loving public. It is time to act, and to act fast.
The first point of reference is to disband the ailing interim structure as it has failed. A rugby indaba should be held with a views to an annual general meeting where proper office bearers can be elected to save Komani rugby.