Panne narrowly win first league match
Putting their pool stage elimination from the 2014 Cell C Community Cup behind them, Brakpan Rugby Club's first team experienced a brutal and physical battle against Vaal-Pukke, in Vanderbijlpark, on Saturday.
This was the Panne’s first match of the Valke Pergerine League and they returned to the East Rand with the victory in the bag.
The students defended like demons and kept the Brakpan outfit, who fielded a number of players who did not feature in the Community Cup campaign, at bay for most of the game.
They could break the Pukke defence only twice, as Uwe Sauer and Dean van der Merwe went over for Brakpan’s two tries.
The physicality of the encounter reached boiling point in the final five minutes, when two Brakpan players, Vernon du Preez and Percy Ueckermann, received red cards.
Despite this, the team managed to secure a 15-7 win.
Van der Merwe again stood out in the lock position, while scrumhalf Neil van der Walt put in a solid performance.
“They obviously upped their game for the recent Varsity Shield competition and we had to work really hard, but we are satisfied that we started the league off with a win,” said club chairman Harry Nieuwenhuis.
“We needed a game like this, especially with nine of the original community cup side not available through injury and other commitments.
“The guys who played for the first team this week gave it their all and we are very happy with the players who got their first starts in the first team.”
The club hosts Vereeniging on Saturday, at Bosman Stadium, with games starting from 1.30pm.
