For the latest Cell C Community Cup fixtures, results and logs, visit www.sarugby.co.za or www.supersport.com, or follow SARU's official Community Cup Twitter account @saclubrugby

THE race for Cell C Community Cup Easter play-off places was blown wide open on Saturday, with a last-minute missed conversion in New Brighton township and a remarkable come-from-behind victory on the East Rand capping a dramatic afternoon of club rugby across the country.

 

A second try to flying Spring Rose wing Siviwe Moyake in the 78th minute set up a nailbiting conclusion to their Pool A match against Border champions Kempston Old Selbornians, but the large crowd at the New Brighton Oval were left stunned when flyhalf Thulani Meki missed the conversion to give the visitors a 20-19 win.

 

And in Pool C, surprise package Roses United, the Boland champions, clawed their way back from a 17-0 deficit in spectacular style when they scored 31 unanswered points, including two tries to wing Brendon April, against Kaufela Boksburg to run out 50-36 winners and shoot to the top of the log.

 

Roodepoort, thanks to a hat-trick from flanker Jaun Shaw, and Bloemfontein Crusaders came away from Welkom with bonus-point victories over E-Car Welkom and Eagle Towing Rovers respectively to lead the standings in Pool B, while Rustenburg Impala and Hamiltons emerged as the heavyweights of Pool D with impressive wins against spirited opponents.

 

Impala, who finished fourth in the inaugural Community Cup, were made to work hard for a 41-17 victory against Shumba Ferros in Emalahleni in which flanker Justin Wheeler scored a brace, while Hamiltons overcame a slow start against Griquas champions Aveng Moolmans Sishen before running in seven tries in a 48-9 victory in Green Point.

 

And defending champions Gap Management Despatch sent out a clear message that any team wanting to lift the priceless Gold Cup on Easter Monday will have to get through them first, Adri Geldenhuys's team overcoming a vociferous 2,600-strong home crowd to score eight tries – including a hat-trick for former Springbok Sevens wing Baldwin McBean – against SWD champions Bridgton on a sweltering afternoon in Oudtshoorn.

 

Elsewhere there was also an impressive win for newcomers Refreshhh! Centurion, who kicked off their campaign with a 46-22 victory over BB Truck Noordelikes in Pool C. Centurion's victory now sets up an intriguing clash in Wellington this coming weekend against Roses United, who will become the first team to qualify for George should they overcome the highly physical Blue Bulls open club champions.

 

All club rugby roads will lead to the Boland on Saturday as Wesbank are also at home, with a full day of fixtures against Hamiltons building up to their keenly anticipated Community Cup clash at the Wesbank Sports Grounds in Malmesbury at 16h00.

 

Bloemfontein Crusaders will also fancy their chances this Saturday against Jonsson College Rovers, with victory over the KZN champions at their fortress of Clive Solomon Stadium likely to set up a tense race for play-off spots in Pool B. 

 

And with Spring Rose suffering their second defeat in Pool A, Mossel Bay Barbarians will travel to Despatch knowing that a shock upset over the champions in their backyard will shorten the odds on a local team qualifying – as Evergreens did last year – for next month's Easter play-offs at Outeniqua Park in George.

 

This weekend's seven matches will however be teed up by an historic first-ever live broadcast of a club match on a Thursday night, when G5 Metals Brakpan host Kaufela Boksburg in the traditional East Rand derby (SuperSport 1 & HD, kick-off 18h00). The match will be preceded by the second episode of the Cell C Community Cup TV show, which will once again show highlights from all the weekend's action.

 

Full Results, Round 2:

 

Pool A:

Bridgton (0) 7 – Try: Algernon Waarts. Conversion: Adriaan Booysen.

Gap Management Despatch (28) 54 – Tries: Baldwin McBean (3), Bobby Dyer, Billy Mentoor, Elroy Ligman, Monty Dumond, Trichardt van Tonder. Conversions: Dumond (7).

 

Spring Rose (14) 19 – Tries: Siviwe Moyake (2). Penalties: Thulani Meki (3).

Kempston Old Selbornians (15) 20 – Tries: Craig Shone, Duran Alberts, Michael Amui. Conversion: Shone. Penalty: Shone.

 

 

Pool B:

E-Car Welkom 0

Roodepoort (35) 75 – Tries: Chanley Williams, Gerhard Scholtz, Jaun Shaw (3), Jesse Geyer, Junior Gray, Lesego Malau (2), Nicky Cronje, Thys de Villiers. Conversions: Williams (5), Hennie Oosthuizen (5).

 

Bloemfontein Crusaders 29

Eagle Towing Rovers 21

 

Pool C:

Kaufela Boksburg (22) 36 – Tries: Ashwill Adams, Calvin Jantjies, Dean Swart, Etienne Taljaard, Wynand Venter. Conversions: Ashley Buchler (4). Penalty: Buchler.

Roses United (14) 50 – Tries: Brendon April (2), Denver Fortuin, Reinart Ellmann, Tiaan Ramat (2), penalty try. Conversions: Ryan Julies (6). Drop goal: Julies.

 

Refreshhh! Centurion (26) 46 – Tries: Cornelius Pieterse, Paul Jacobs, Rohann Stroh, Ryno Coetzee, Sylvester Booysen, Wilmar Keyter. Conversions: Stanley Twiname, Steven Moir (4). Penalties: Twiname, Moir.

BB Truck Noordelikes (10) 22 – Tries: Gert van der Merwe, Johan de Beer, Theyman Jongbloed. Conversions: Zander Byleveldt (2). Penalty: Byleveldt.

 

Pool D:

Hamiltons (17) 48 – Tries: Greg van Jaarsveld, Herman Botha, Iewan Bartels, JG Giliomee (2), Stefan de Villiers, Terry Jacobs. Conversions: Shane Vallender (5). Penalty: Vallender.

Aveng Moolmans Sishen (9) 9 – Penalties: AJ Bloem (3).

 

Shumba Ferros 17

Rustenburg Impala 41

 

 

Logs after Round 2:

 

TEAM	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	BP -7	BP 4T	PTS
Pool A
Despatch	2	2	0	0	78	13	65	10	1	0	1	9
Barbarians	1	1	0	0	32	13	19	5	2	0	1	5
Old Selbornians	1	1	0	0	20	19	1	3	2	0	0	4
Spring Rose	2	0	2	0	25	44	-19	2	5	1	0	1
Bridgton	2	0	2	0	20	86	-66	3	13	0	0	0
Pool B Roodepoort	2	2	0	0	94	17	77	13	1	0	1	9
Crusaders	2	1	1	0	46	40	6	5	2	1	1	6
College Rovers	1	1	0	0	85	0	85	13	0	0	1	5
Rovers (Griffons)	1	0	1	0	21	29	-8	0	4	0	0	0
Welkom	2	0	2	0	0	160	-160	0	24	0	0	0
Pool C Roses United	2	2	0	0	77	62	15	10	9	0	2	10
Boksburg	2	1	1	0	78	63	15	10	8	0	2	6
Centurion	1	1	0	0	46	22	24	6	3	0	1	5
Brakpan	1	0	1	0	26	27	-1	4	4	1	1	2
Noordelikes	2	0	2	0	35	88	-53	5	11	0	0	0
Pool D Impala	2	2	0	0	70	34	36	8	2	0	2	10
Hamiltons	1	1	0	0	48	9	39	7	0	0	1	5
Ferros	2	1	1	0	50	61	-11	5	8	0	0	4
Wesbank	1	0	1	0	20	33	-13	4	3	0	1	1
Sishen	2	0	2	0	26	77	-51	2	11	0	0	0

 

 

Upcoming Cell C Community Cup fixtures (all kick-off times 16h00 unless otherwise indicated):

 

Round 3 – Thursday 20 March:

Match 22 (Pool C) – G5 Metals Brakpan vs Kaufela Boksburg (Bosman Stadium, 18h00 – live on SS1 & HD)

Round 3 – Saturday 22 March:

Match 17 (Pool A) – Kempston Old Selbornians vs Bridgton (Kempston Park, East London)

Match 18 (Pool A) – Gap Management Despatch vs Mossel Bay Barbarians (WJ de Wet Stadium, Despatch)

Match 19 (Pool B) – Bloemfontein Crusaders vs Jonsson College Rovers (Clive Solomon Stadium, Heidedal)

Match 20 (Pool B) – Eagle Towing Rovers vs Roodepoort (Rovers Rugby Club, Welkom, 16h30)

Match 21 (Pool C) – Roses United vs Refreshhh! Centurion (Pelican Park, Wellington)

Match 23 (Pool D) – Aveng Moolmans Sishen vs Shumba Ferros (Sivos Rugby Stadium, Kathu)

Match 24 (Pool D) – Wesbank vs Hamiltons (Wesbank Sports Grounds, Malmesbury)

Byes: Spring Rose, E-Car Welkom, BB Truck Noordelikes, Rustenburg Impala.

 

Round 4 – Saturday 29 March:

Match 25 (Pool A) – Mossel Bay Barbarians vs Kempston Old Selbornians (D'Almeida Stadium, Mossel Bay)

Match 26 (Pool A) – Bridgton vs Spring Rose (Bridgton Sports Grounds, Oudtshoorn)

Match 27 (Pool B) – Eagle Towing Rovers vs E-Car Welkom (Rovers Rugby Club, Welkom, 17h00)

Match 28 (Pool B) – Roodepoort vs Jonsson College Rovers (Rand Leases Sports Ground, Roodepoort)

Match 29 (Pool C) – G5 Metals Brakpan vs BB Truck Noordelikes (Bosman Stadium, Brakpan, 18h00)

Match 30 (Pool C) – Kaufela Boksburg vs Refreshhh! Centurion (Prince George Park, Boksburg)

Match 31 (Pool D) – Wesbank vs Rustenburg Impala (Wesbank Sports Grounds, Malmesbury)

Match 32 (Pool D) – Hamiltons vs Shumba Ferros (Stephan Oval, Green Point, Cape Town)

Byes: Gap Management Despatch, Bloemfontein Crusaders, Roses United, Aveng Moolmans Sishen.

 

Round 5 – Saturday 5 April:

Match 33 (Pool A) – Spring Rose vs Mossel Bay Barbarians (New Brighton Oval, Port Elizabeth, 15h30)

Match 34 (Pool A) – Kempston Old Selbornians v Gap Management Despatch (Kempston Park, East London)

Match 35 (Pool B) – Jonsson College Rovers vs Eagle Towing Rovers (KP3, Kings Park, Durban, 15h00)

Match 36 (Pool B) – E-Car Welkom vs Bloemfontein Crusaders (Griffons Rugby Stadium 'B' field, Welkom)

Match 37 (Pool C) – Refreshhh! Centurion vs G5 Metals Brakpan (Centurion Rugby Club, Centurion)

Match 38 (Pool C) – BB Truck Noordelikes vs Roses United (Noordelikes Rugby Club, Polokwane, 16h30)

Match 39 (Pool D) – Rustenburg Impala vs Hamiltons (Rustenburg Impala Rugby Club, Rustenburg)

Match 40 (Pool D) – Aveng Moolmans Sishen vs Wesbank (Sivos Rugby Stadium, Kathu)

Byes: Bridgton, Roodepoort, Kaufela Boksburg, Shumba Ferros.

 

Easter Championship Play-offs – Outeniqua Park, George (all matches live on SuperSport. K/o times tbc):

 

Day 1 – Thursday 17 April:

Match 41 (Cup QF1) – Winner Pool C vs Runner-up Pool D

Match 42 (Cup QF2) – Winner Pool B vs Runner-up Pool A

Match 43 (Cup QF3) – Winner Pool D vs Runner-up Pool C

Match 44 (Cup QF4) – Winner Pool A vs Runner-up Pool B

 

Day 2 – Saturday 19 April:

Match 45 (Losers' match 1) – Loser Match 41 (QF1) vs Loser Match 42 (QF2)

Match 46 (Losers' match 2) – Loser Match 43 (QF3) vs Loser Match 44 (QF4)

Match 47 (Cup SF1) – Winner Match 41 (QF1) vs Winner Match 42 (QF2)

Match 48 (Cup SF2) – Winner Match 43 (QF3) vs Winner Match 44 (QF4)

 

Day 3 – Easter Monday, 21 April:

Match 49 (7^th/8^th Place Play-off) – Loser Match 45 vs Loser Match 46

Match 50 (5^h/6^th Place Play-off) – Winner Match 45 vs Winner Match 46

Match 51 (3^rd/4^th Place Play-off) – Loser Match 47 (SF1) vs Loser Match 48 (SF2)

Match 52 (Cup Final) – Winner Match 47 (SF1) vs Winner Match 48 (SF2)

 

PHOTO CAPTION: Members of Aveng Moolmans Sishen pose with the Gold Cup during their visit to the Springbok Experience rugby museum in Cape Town on Saturday, ahead of their Cell C Community Cup match against Hamiltons.