South Africa’s Rugby Northern, Central and Southern Amateur Provincial Competitions (APC) kicked off on Monday, August 22 with a mixture of big wins and tight encounters entertaining fans at the three host venues across the country.
The competitions feature the best amateur players throughout the country, with a total of 24 sides battling it out for top provincial honours.
In the Northern APC at Alberton Rugby Club in Alberton, the Valke registered the biggest victory of the opening day as they delivered a solid all-round display to thump Pumas Lowveld 54-0, while hosts, the Golden Lions, defeated the Limpopo Blue Bulls 45-36, the Golden Lions XV pipped the Leopards 36-34 and the Blue Bulls beat Pumas Highveld 28-19.
The Central APC at Griqua Park in Kimberley was dominated by three big scores and one tight finish. The Sharks Club XV registered an emphatic 66-10 victory against Free State Rural, while Free State Central outplayed Griquas Rural 41-7 and Griffons Central defeated their Rural counterparts 31-5. The final match of the day, however, was gripping as hosts, Griquas, held off a determined KwaZulu-Natal Wildebeest Rural team for a 17-14 victory.
In the Southern APC at Outeniqua Park in George, hosts SWD emerged with a 28-21 victory against Eastern Province Rural, but the SWD XV went down 15-18 against Boland. Western Province were in top form on attack and defence as they overpowered Border 69-3, while Eastern Province defeated Border Rural 54-25.
The teams will be split into the Plate and Cup sections for Wednesday’s second round, while the final day’s play on Friday will feature the Cup and Plate finals, as well as playoffs for the third and seventh positions.
In the Cup matches in the Northern APC on Wednesday, August 24, the Valke will take on the Golden Lions and the Blue Bulls lock horns with the Golden Lions XV, and in the Central APC the Griffons will meet the Sharks Club XV, while Free State Central takes on Griquas Central.
The top match-ups in the Southern APC in George, meanwhile, will see Eastern Province meet Western Province and Boland take on SWD.
Round two fixtures (Wednesday, August 24):
Northern APC:10:00 – Pumas Lowveld vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
12:00 – Pumas Highveld vs Leopards
14:00 – Valke vs Golden Lions
16:00 – Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions XV
