‘Panne’ must take the long route

Springs needed a victory to ensure automatic qualification to the 2015 Cell C Community Cup, and that is precisely what transpired on the day.

This was the second time that Springs have beaten the “Panne” this year – this time with a score line of 23-17.

The result means that the team will now need to take the long route if they are to qualify as the second Valke representatives in the country’s elite community rugby tournament.

Things in the game started off brightly for the Bosman Stadium-based men and they were going along nicely at 17-0, until captain and lock Francois “Bones” Robbertse (broken pelvis) and Gido Horn (knee) went off injured.

Springs capitalised on this and, although the Brakpan forwards put up a strong fight, the youngsters who made up the backline struggled defensively.

Springs attacked the Panne midfield with great success, while too many bad tackles would cost the Brakpan first team the game.

Another costly factor was decision-making when penalties were awarded, with Brakpan choosing the lineout option over penalty kicks on a few occasions.

Harry Nieuwenhuis, chairman of Brakpan Rugby Club, congratulated Springs on their automatic qualification to the Community Cup.

“We will now need to take the long route, with a wild card play-off against the runners-up of the Bulls, Lions or Leopards leagues and, after that, against the winner of the Southern League, to get back into the Community Cup,” he said.

This Saturday the team again play Boksburg, in the Valke Peregrine League semi-finals, at 4pm, at Bosman Stadium.

Brakpan point-scorers on the day were Matthews Mtshali (try), Tinus Ueckermann (try), Wikus van der Berg (try) and Dewald Nel (conversion).