The Bears Rugby League Club continued their successful Rhino League Cup campaign with another victory.
So far the team has scored 147 points in the last three league games and are sitting top of the log and are seen as the favourites to win this year’s trophy.
The club hosted Pretoria Bulls Rugby League Club at the Elspark Sports Complex, last Saturday, winning the clash 57-36.
Despite the win, the Bears had a slow start to the physical confrontation, with the visitors opening with a strong attack and scoring first.
The home team was surprised by the physical onslaught from the Bulls and quickly scrambled to get their defence in place in an attempt to prevent further tries from the visiting team.
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The Bears’ quick thinking was soon rewarded with a strong run up the field by Robin Howell creating space and putting centre Dieter de la Port in the perfect position to score the Bears’ first try of the match.
The match continued in a to-and-fro pattern with both teams putting in some big hits and strong runs.
The Bears’ team for the clash was made up of six debutantes, who looked to the senior players to maintain the discipline and control the game.
“It is the first time we had faced the Bulls in six years.
“Despite the physicality of the team we were able to pull through thanks to the experience of our senior players and dedication of our newer members,” said Andries van der Merwe, chairperson for the Bears.
Three of the Bears’ players, who will travel to Australia as part of the South African Rugby League (SARL) national team, The Rhinos, gave an outstanding performance during the match.
Highlights included de la Port making a 70m run to score his second of five tries in the match, van der Merwe making several powerful and well-timed tackles and Howell successfully kicking the team’s many conversions, which kept them ahead of their opponents.
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The Bears’ tries were scored by de la Port, Louki Koekemoer, Howell and Jacques Janse van Rensburg.
Coach Steven van Zyl is proud of the team’s performance in the last few matches and aims to improve the side further through training.
“There is still a lot of work to do,” he said.
The club is still open to new players.
“The season still has a long way to go and any new players are always welcome to be part of this sport,” said van der Merwe.
For more information on the club or the sport, call van der Merwe on 076 565 0483.
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