Schotschekloof (SK) Walmer Rugby Football Club stretched their tally to three wins in six games after a 31-24 victors over Paarl during a Western Province (WPRFU) Super League A encounter at Green Point Track on Saturday June 29.
Under wet conditions, in front of a dedicated crowd, the SK Walmer outfit maintained 12th spot with 15 points thanks to a try in the last five minutes.
A fortnight ago, SK Walmer caused an upset in the north after they impressed with a 36-29 win over fourth-placed Union-Milnerton (Uni-Mil) in Milnerton.
They will look to continue their winning ways when they host a dangerous Durbanville-Bellville (Durbell) side at home on Saturday.
Meanwhile, neighbours Hamilton went down 27-33 to Villager at the Stephan Oval in Green Point in a derby between two of the country’s oldest rugby clubs. The hosts lead 17-15 at the break.
This was Hamilton’s second loss in two weeks following their 13-14 defeat to Brackenfell away last week.
The have now drawn one, won three and lost four of their eight matches.
It does not get any easier for Hamilton as they will face a difficult False Bay side at home on Saturday.
False Bay and UCT are the combined log leaders with 36 points each.
The Constantia based side will head into the match against Hamilton following a narrow 31-29 victory over Durbell at the weekend.
Meanwhile, this is the second season back in the SLA for Villager and their improvement is undeniable.
The Claremont-based club survived the cut at the end of 2018, no mean achievement as adapting to the rigours of rugby in a league widely regarded as the best in the country is daunting enough.
SLA 2019 is progressing a little better for the Dirty Whites, seemingly out of the clutches of the relegation zone before this encounter, with some daylight now created which will allow them to focus on performance in the league and not survival.
Results between Hamilton and Villager over the last dozen years have gone the way of the Green Point big guns, keeping in mind that Villager have been competing in the SLB for the better part of that period and the pre-season derby has mostly been the only comparison available.
Bycontrast,Hammies have won the SLA and have been crowned national club champions during the same
period.
Matchday dawned with a pervasive air of anticipation, an upset most definitely on the cards but by the time the main match arrived, the hosts had won all four of the matches on the day.
With a bitterly cold north-westerly wind pumping from one set of uprights to the other, a substantial first half lead for the team playing with the wind in the first half was imperative.
Both teams endeavoured to run the ball in a match which produced end-to-end, high quality rugby and eight tries, five of them to the visitors.
The platform for this was in the form of two big packs of forwards which went hammer and tong at each other, creating space for their backs to run the ball.
The Villager loose trio of Jan Bester, Ross Becket and Raynard Stammer were outstanding on the day, with Stammer set to produce an individual piece of brilliance in injury time that will be difficult to forget.
Hamilton hooker Martin van Wyk was a livewire, covering ground as he popped up in support.
Pivot Logan Basson controlled his team’s field position with impeccable line-kicking while keeping the scoreboard rolling with his 12-point haul with the boot.
In False Bay’s victory against Durbell in Durbanville on Saturday, the final score was 31-29 after the Bay trailed 10-26 at the break.
A close rivalry has existed between the two clubs for a number of years now. Recent encounters have been close, filled with drama and quality rugby. The hosts were victorious the last time the sides met – at last year’s semi-finals in Athlone.
By the time Saturday’s fixture arrived as round eight of the SLA 2019, Durbell were lying second on the table with the Bay snapping at their heels in third position. With a stiff north-westerly wind at their backs, the hosts set about building a healthy lead to carry them through the second half when the biting wind would be the ally of the visitors.
– Additional reporting by Jon
Harris
