Poorte 1sts remain top while U/19s bring up ‘cricket score’ against Raiders
Roodepoort Rugby Club remained top of the open clubs' log after they defeated Raiders handsomely last weekend.
Despite being without a number of their usual starters, Roodepoort Rugby Club’s First XV earned a strong 43-point victory over Raiders to go three points clear on the log.
A mixed day overall for Poorte on 7 July got off to a phenomenal start as the U/19 side locked horns with the team from Raiders Rugby Club on a chilly Saturday at Allen Glen High School. A stellar performance from the boys from Ruimsig saw them sweep aside the team from Industria with a scoreline that can only be described as a ‘cricket score’. The U/19 Poorte team racked up an extremely rare 100 points while Raiders only mustered a measly five points. Poorte ran out 100–5 victors.
The sweet taste of victory would have to be put on hold for Poorte however, as they would have to wait until the final game of the day, the match between the first teams, to celebrate again.
While the U/19s were enjoying their match, the third team was unable to emulate the juniors’ success and lost 26–40. The day’s next matches were the U/21s who went down by 11 points, losing 19–30, and the second team, which lost its match 10–43.
Finally came the most anticipated match of the day, the match that would determine whether Poorte would remain top of the open clubs’ log or if Raiders would overtake them and take top spot. Poorte were without the league’s highest points scorer, Stokkies Hannekom, as well as their vice-captain and formidable fly-half, Byron Godfrey, while Raiders boasted an impressive line-up that included the league’s top try scorer, Itu Mpete.
Despite coming up against a strong Raiders side, and being faced with the pressure of securing top spot, Poorte put in a strong performance and ran out 62–19 victors to go seven points clear of Raiders, who fell to third place. Raiders were overtaken by Wanderers Rugby Club who earned themselves second place on the log with a 31–19 victory over Pirates Rugby Club to go within three points of Roodepoort, and remain well in the race for qualification for the Gold Cup.
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