By CHESLEY DANIELS
St Marks Alicedale were recently crowned the new EPRU SEDRU Regional League Champs for the 2022 rugby season.
Rhodes were at the end of the second round of the competition unofficially declared as SEDRU Champs but withdrew from their EPRU Regional League Quarter Final last Thursday against Paterson Lions (Sundays River Valley Champs).
St Marks lodged an appeal at the Eastern Province Ruby Union Club Affairs office regarding their outstanding games against Rhodes, which would determine the overall log leader and winner of the SEDRU League. The withdrawal of Rhodes on the same day as their appeal hearing meant St Marks went through to the Quarter Final as SEDRU Champs. EPRU confirmed this on Thursday.
St Marks had a highly successful season and were the log leaders for most of the season. Rhodes overtook St Marks as log leaders after the second-last game of the season.
The Alicedale outfit won most of their games with bonus points, which was vital for their cause. Their strength was their powerful and big forward pack, which laid the foundation in every match and dominated matters upfront.
The pack boasted a potent mix of youth and experience, while their backline was the youngest of all the clubs in the league. The experienced and powerful 8th man Brian Buys was one of their standout players – and the top try scorer in the competition. St Marks were extremely dangerous at their fortress home ground in Alicedale and were unbeaten at home. They lost just two games, winning 13 and drawing one.
ST MARKS RESULTS:
- Rosebuds (26-3)
- Wanderers (28-0)
- Swallows (40-7)
- Kowie United (27-3)
- OC (30-31)
- Klipfontein (5-26)
- Tigers (39-10)
- Rosebuds (28-0)
- Wanderers (28-0)
- Swallows (34-22)
- Kowie (24-6)
- OC (47-14)
- Rhodes (28-0)*
- Klipfontein (15-5)
- Tigers (12-12)
- Rhodes (28-0)*
*Outstanding games and points awarded due to appeal and withdrawal
WON: 13
LOST: 2
DRAW: 1
TOTAL POINTS:
- St Marks (411)
- Klipfontein (328)
- Rhodes (326)
- OC (314)
- Kowie (279)
- Rosebuds (265)
- Swallows (256)
- Tigers (176)
TOTAL TRIES:
- St Marks (62)
- Klipfontein (52)
- Rhodes (51)
- OC (45)
- Swallows (38)
- Rosebuds (37)
- Kowie (36)
- Tigers (28)
TOP TRY SCORERS:
- Brian Buys – St Marks (11)
- Johnny Hilpert – Kowie (9)
- Vuyelwethu Bam – OC (8)
- Dylan Graaff – Klipfontein (7)
Unofficial SEDRU Log as of 18/08/2022:
- St Marks – 66 (16)
- Klipfontein – 57 (16)
- Rhodes – 54 (16)
- Kowie United – 49 (16)
- OC – 44 (16)
- Swallows 28 (16)
- Tigers – 26 (16)
- Rosebuds – 25 (16)
- Wanderers – 0 (16)
St Marks director of rugby Donovan Williams was very proud of his team’s achievements. “It’s indeed a great honour to be part of this amazing Bulls Train and want to thank the head coach Edward Botha who also done very well as coach of the team. We worked very well together and deserved credit for his hard work and commitment. Being the SEDRU Champs means a lot to all of us, as we had to overcome many obstacles to get where we are. I want to thank every player, official and supporter for an amazing season and support. We deserve to be Champs, and we will always remain humble in our quest to improve. We will strive to go further next season,” he said.
