It’s another weekend of exciting rugby for Western Province as our leagues get closer to the top six, the promotion league finalized, coaching education rolling out, and our DHL WP Rugby Ladies team is back in action.
This past week has again seen some interesting regional league movement as Milnerton moved to the top spot in Super League A after a narrow win over Hamlets, and long-standing log leaders Helderberg going down to Hamiltons last weekend. This weekend will again see us getting one step closer to the top six as Villagers take on Durbel, False Bay hosts Hamlets, Helderberg hosts Tygerberg, and Uni-Mil travels to Brackenfell. Villagers, who have two games in hand, as well as all teams now know every match is crucial to secure a position in the top six.
Super League B remains as unpredictable as ever, with Franschhoek on top of the log, followed by All Saints and still unbeaten SK Walmers in third, with several teams still with games in hand. Look out for some derby-style matches as All Saints host Strand, Primrose host Vineyards, and Franschhoek travels to Kylemore.
Whereas previously, Super League B seemed the league with the narrowest margins, it now seems Super League C is building up a similar reputation. Last weekend saw some interesting results as rivals Scottsdene drew with Van der Stel Evergreens, Busy Bees drew with Hamediehs, and Macassar beat Eersterivier by a single point.
Fans can enjoy watching a top-of-the-table clash in Stellenbosch this week as log leaders Van der Stell host third-place Macassar. Macassar has, to date, amassed a total of 337 points vs Van der Stel’s 283 and is scoring an average of five tries per game compared to the four of Van der Stel.
In the Paarl Region, we’re seeing a big derby as old rivals and multiple region finalists Paarl Rangers and Lower Paarl go head-to-head this weekend. These two teams are sitting at positions three and four on the log, respectively, and in addition to the pride factor, both teams will be looking to get closer to Young Gardens and Young Standards as the Paarl Region now passes the season halfway mark.
This week saw the annual draw for home and away positions and fixtures in the Northern, Southern, and City Leagues, as the top three from each region now go into the promotion league, otherwise referred to as the top nine challenges for promotion to Super League C. The only last factor to complete is the match between Rocklands and Atlantis in the Northern League. Atlantis has already finalized their position at number one, but Rocklands could still secure the third position with a win this weekend and will no doubt have Titans sitting on edge as they currently occupy third place.
The event held at the Sport Science Institute in Newlands also saw the draw for the additional teams in the regions and will see the tournament roll out over the next eight weeks before going into playoffs.
This week sees yet another World Rugby Coaching course hosted by Western Province Rugby as we see our coaches attend the level coaching course. The next course will be in a fortnight when we host the World Rugby Level One Coaching course, and we encourage anyone looking to get into rugby to sign up (Click here).
On a final note, we wish our DHL WP Rugby Ladies team the best of luck as they take on the Golden Lions Ladies team in Alberton.