Siyaya Brakpan Rugby Club is officially one of the top four best club sides in southern Africa.
The “Panne” booked their spot in the semi-finals of the South African Rugby Union’s (Saru) Gold Cup against Rustenburg Impala on Sunday, October 23 following a landslide 61-3 quarter-final victory over PE Police at the Bosman Stadium on Saturday, October 15.
The team from the Friendly City were clearly out of their depth and could do nothing to halt the Brakpan machine.
The hosts ran in nine tries on the day with bullish hooker again showcasing his good form with a hat trick of tries to take his overall try haul in the competition to six.
“We never expected such a score, especially with the likes of Wayne van Heerden and Justin Peach (both former Super 15 players) in their side,” said club chairman Harry Nieuwenhuis.
“The boys played one of their best games of the season with backs and forwards playing a supportive game.
“As usual our forwards took charge, but this time our backline played brilliant rugby.”
Try-scorers on Saturday were Oosthuizen (three), Thinus Ueckermann (two), Clayton Gindan, Hagen Mumba, Raydall Walters and Ronwin Roets. Hagen Mumba slotted five conversions and Gido Horn three.
Brakpan will be relieved that none of their players sustained injuries in the quarter-final and will head to the home of the Pool B champions Impala with nothing but victory on the agenda.
Matches between these two great club sides are always a humdinger and this one is expected to be no different.
Impala will be relying on home ground advantage to get them through to the final.
“It is a pity that we could not play the semi-final at home, but our team is in an extremely positive place now and we are peaking at exactly the right time,” added the chairman.
“To be one of the top four clubs in southern Africa is a tremendous achievement, but our goal has always been to be the number one club.”
The first Gold Cup semi-final is a highly-anticipated, all-Western Province affair between defending champions Durbanville-Bellville and WP champions DirectAxis False Bay.
That match will take place at Durbell Rugby Club, with kick-off at 1pm, live on SuperSport One.
The heavyweight northern battle between last year’s runners-up and Brakpan will follow and kick-off at 3.30pm, also live on SuperSport One.
The referee in this match will be Pro Legoete.
Follow us:
To receive the latest news on your phone:
WhatsApp number: 0794306641 (add us to your contacts and send your name and surname on WhatsApp)
