Referee ‘abuse’ rocks Alicedale as St Marks clinch win over Windwogel

St Marks Alicedale 1st XV clinched a narrow hard-fought 16-12 win over Windvogel United in their Score Epru Grand Challenge Bottom 12 fixture at the Alicedale Sports Ground on Saturday, while Swallows and Klipfontein also registered close wins.

EPRU GRAND CHALLENGE BOTTOM 12

In a heated encounter on Saturday, the home side, St Marks Alicedale, secured a crucial 16-12 win over the visitors after trailing 7-12 at halftime. The win was crucial for the home side as they suffered a few defeats in the competition and are sitting on the bottom half of the overall log standings. It was a see-saw affair with a competitive and brutal battle upfront, between the two packs of forwards. The home side led 12-7 in the first half. The locals then turned to their young guns in the backline who had the upper hand over their counterparts, executing their pace and skill to gain territorial advantage. Sive Litye, the loose forward of St Marks, was the stand-out player in the forwards and had a storming game, securing more than eight turnovers at breakdown and putting the visitors under immense pressure throughout the game. United failed to score any points in the second half as the Bulls’ solid and colossal defence stood firm.

It was left to young fullback Razeen Saterdag who had his kicking boots on and secured the win for St Marks with his accurate long range kicks. He slotted three second-half penalties as St Marks dominated affairs in the second half. Saterdag also made a crucial try-saving tackle in injury time that could have resulted in Windvogel scoring the winning try. All three match officials were allegedly physical abused by Windvogel members after the game. Sive Litye of St Marks walked away with the man-of-the-match award.

Blues travelled to Gqeberha on Saturday to face on-form log leaders, Suburban. The Makhanda side put up a good fight until the very end, giving the home side a run for their money. In the end, it was Suburban who held firm on to their lead with their solid defence, securing a hard-fought 19-11 win.

EPRU ADAMS CUP

Swallows faced a defiant and determined Red Lions side in Adelaide over the past weekend. The visitors from Makhanda secured an impressive 10-7 away win that put them on top of their Group D log. The game was played in a very good spirit and it was a highly tough and competitive battle that went to the wire.

OC hosted Wolves in a packed Lavender Valley Sports Ground on Saturday. It was a highly entertaining running rugby clash as both teams gave the ball a lot of air. The home side made numerous unforced errors with Wolves took full advantage and put points on the board.

In the end, the Wolves were the better side and claimed a 25-17 bonus-point win. Young Darren Koesnel of Wolves was named man of the match.

United went down to face Group A log leaders, Wallabies, and stunned them in their own backyard with a narrow 10-7 win. The win put Klipfontein on top of the log as they dethronen Wallabies.

EPRU GRAND CHALLENGE TOP 12

Stars from Sedru faced the in-form Harlies at the fortress Adcock Stadium on Saturday in Gqeberha, with the home side clinching a hard-fought 28-27 bonus-point win. Stars also earned two losing bonus points and should be satisfied with their away performance. Harlies jumped to second spot on the log with the win and are chasing Gardens who are the log leaders and the only unbeaten team in the competition.