Squads gear for Top 6 quarter-final clashes

One of the most keenly contested and entertaining Super League A competitions in many years reaches the last-team-standing stages from Saturday, when the WPRFU Super League A quarter-finals take place at Constantia and Green Point.

Of the six teams reaching this stage, only one is from outside the Atlantic Seaboard and Southern Suburbs. The ubiquitous DurBell, second-place finishers at the end of the round robin stages, stand alone to face the best their foe from the South have to offer.

Six clubs may have reached this stage, but it was most definitely not a competition of six strong competitors, and the newcomers to the league, van der Stel-Evergreen, undoubtedly the surprise package, were pushed into seventh place when they lost to Tygerberg a fortnight ago.

The Stellenbosch team needed a four-try victory with a miracle winning margin to push SK Walmer out of the knockouts, but lost the Battle of Ravensmead, which brought an end to the dream for them. The club can be proud of their achievement this season. Older club rugby followers will recall the heady days when they were a stock standard in the Grand Challenge. When club rugby entered free fall after the game turned professional in 1995, van der Stel suffered substantially.  This year crowned a remarkable return journey, competing for the title with a fit, powerful, and talented squad throughout SLA2025.

On the same day that the Ravensmead contest took place, Villager RFC saw bottom of the table St George's forfeit the game. The match, already postponed when club rugby was all but washed out by one of our winter storms, became a contest never to take place. The Strand-based club has struggled throughout the season, barely offering resistance in any of their matches, unfortunate whipping boys of the competition. Together with Kuils River, they are perhaps a sad exception to the quality of the competition. The forfeiture gave the Brooksiders the honour of ending top of the table for the second year running and automatic entry to the semi-finals, scheduled for Saturday, September 13, at City Park.

Battle readiness for this stage of the competition is the challenge for the coaches of the six clubs in the knockouts. For Saturday’s four teams, the break they have enjoyed has allowed them to prepare their players for battle, moving focus away from on-field execution to maintaining the fitness edge and skills. Body rejuvenation would be the objective, and then ramping up the intensity for this week to hit their straps as they surge forward on Saturday. Yet for the two automatic semi-finalists, practice ground drills may have a negative effect come match day. That, however, is an armchair opinion as no team is likely to squander their hard work throughout the season with a rusty display.

At the Stephen Grounds, defending SLA champions Hamilton host Varsity Cup 2025 champions in what can only be described as a humdinger. Hammies, celebrating their 150th anniversary, have had another extraordinary season, with the Seconds, Thirds, and under-20As all winning their respective leagues. What more motivation do they need to go all the way? Enigmatic UCT are dark horses. Known for their big game temperament, the Tigers did not exactly set the world alight in some of their SLA matches, but still qualified nevertheless, a measure of their threat in the play-offs. They know how to win big matches, and this clash is as big as they come.

Just down the drag, Motorvaps False Bay hosts SK Walmers in the other quarter final. The Bay secured third place on the table before the last round, their opposing qualifiers unknown until that Tygerberg clash between the hosts and van der Stel Evergreen.

False Bay coach Ashley Wells and his panel have done an excellent job this season. By no means big and bulky, mobility is their hallmark, and between the forwards and backs, the ball sees so much air, it can at times be breathtaking. Wells has kept a squad of forty-plus players active, including six under-20 stars, preparing for this stage. His resources have been bolstered by the return of scrum-halves Dylon Frylinck and Matthew Damonze.

In their round robin clash earlier this season, captain Labib Kannemeyer’s SK Walmer ran the Bay close, the scoreline flattering to the hosts in the final analysis. This giant in a number nine shirt will almost certainly be in the vanguard of the action when Walmer face their rivals in the only match on the day.

There is no pre-match programme at the Philip Herbstein fields on Saturday, with the match kicking off at 3.30 pm. The entrance fee is R20, with school students under 18 entering free of charge. It promises to be of the highest quality, one not to be missed.