Poorte’s Gold Cup campaign draws to a close after a loss to Swallows
A loss by 14 points to Swallows brought an end to Roodepoort's Gold Cup Campaign.
Roodepoort Rugby Club’s 2019 SSG Gold Cup run came to an end at the conclusion of the group stage, when they succumbed to a 14-point loss at the hands of Swallows Rugby Club.
Roodepoort went into the encounter knowing that they would need a win to progress to the next round of the tournament, while Swallows simply needed a draw to progress, thanks to their superior points difference. Poorte was coming off the back of a hard-fought comeback win against Springs Rugby Club at Ellis Park the week before, hoping to keep their form going.
All Gold Cup matches right around the country kicked off at 4pm, and with the stakes high in all of the groups, every side knew they had to put on their best performance. The Poorte/ Swallows clash got off to a nightmare start for Swallows, as they had a player red-carded; however, shortly thereafter, former Golden Lions centre, Stokkies Hannekom, received a red card for a tip-tackle, having already received a yellow card against Springs the previous week for what was deemed a dangerous tackle. This levelled things out between the sides again, with each player now granted a little extra room on the field with only 14 players a side battling it out for a spot in the quarterfinals. Swallows managed to make use of the homeground advantage as they dominated the first half and went into the break 22–7 ahead.
In typical Roodepoort fashion, the men from the West Rand saved their best rugby for the second half, as they were able score two tries while Swallows slotted over two penalties to bring the score to 28–21 in Swallows’ favour. With the deficit only at seven points, Poorte still stood a chance of progressing, but that hope didn’t last long as Swallows hammered the final nail into Poorte’s coffin when they put the game to bed after extending their lead to 35–21.
That’s where the score remained, and Swallows progressed to the quarterfinals for a clash against the Naka Bulls. Roodepoort will begin preparing for the beginning of their Pirates Grand Challenge.
