Now or never for ‘Panne’
The form of Brakpan Rugby Club’s first XV in the Valke Peregrine League in recent matches has been erratic, to say the least.
After narrowly escaping with a win away to Vaal Reefs on Saturday, May 24, the “Panne” suffered their first Valke League defeat in four years, on Saturday, May 31.
Comfortably leading 27-12 at half time, against Boksburg Rugby Club, at Prince George Park, the visiting team were stunned in the second period of the game, when their opposition turned the result around to win by a point.
The match ended at 34-33, to the home team.
The line-out has always been a strong point for the men from Bosman Stadium, but in the second half it fell to shambles with Brakpan losing at least 10 of their own line-outs.
Even the Panne’s powerful rolling mauls were halted by a determined Boksburg outfit.
“The pressure is now on us to beat Springs, this Saturday, at Bosman Stadium, before the second round of fixtures start,” said the chairman of Brakpan Rugby Club, Harry Nieuwenhuis.
“We had several turnovers at the breakdown, and losing possession proved to be fatal.”
He added that some players played more for themselves than the team, contrary to Boksburg, who put on a solid team performance.
The team’s hopes of qualifying for the 2015 Cell C Community Cup now hang in the balance, with a victory against Springs the only focus for captain Francois “Bones” Robbertse and his men.
“We are, however, positive going forward and we are looking forward to this massive challenge against our old foes,” Nieuwenhuis said.
The game against Springs will kick off at 4pm tomorrow (Saturday), at Bosman Stadium.
The point-scorers for Brakpan against Boksburg were: tries: penalty try, Dwane Morrison and Neil van der Walt. Conversions: Dewald Nel (two). Penalty kicks: Nel (four).
