Klipfontein United kept their charge to an Adams Cup playoff spot on track when they trounced a hapless Glen Roses outfit 43-17 at Harmony Park on Saturday.
Klipfontein, after the first round of matches, are at the summit of the combined log of 40 teams having lost only once – out of eight matches played – to Thistles last month.
Some pundits of a popular social media online rugby chat show, focusing on club matches under the EPRU banner, jokingly label Klipfontein United as Bos rugby specialists (farm rugby specialists) which can be viewed as a back-handed reference to the semi-rural team.
The Harmony Park outfit whose rallying cry is “We Never Quit” took no prisoners on Saturday in front of an amped-up home crowd, and with the hammering of their Gqeberha visitors, sent out a strong message to all their rivals – underestimate us at your peril.
The way Klipfontein are putting their group opposition to the sword in the Adams Cup at the halfway stage, has prompted club official, Helgard Fischat, to say, “We claim that label, Bos Rugby – we are actually proud to own it, because here in the platteland we are playing a brand of rugby that is showing up some established big city teams”.
As Klipfontein coach, Sheldrid Cannon, said after the match, “We play an exciting brand of rugby, that’s the way we are going … plenty of flair and we let the guys express themselves.
“We like to play a running game, so fitness is key for us … we really are putting in the hard graft. We are training Monday to Thursday, four days a week … so high intensity and simulating game situations. We are an attacking team, so we score tries. In previous games we leaked some tries, so I am putting a lot of emphasis on defence,” said Cannon.
Looking to run the ball at every opportunity, the home team proved a handful, especially among the backs, where flyhalf, Duncan Van Rensburg, and winger, Breydon Jacobs, were always in the thick of the action.
Scrumhalf, Meligan Frantz, was as nippy and wily as ever behind a solid scrum, often releasing his backs with quick, direct passes that helped them keep the opposition on their toes.
Within the first 12 minutes of the match, Klipfontein were 12-0 up with tries by Van Rensburg and Frantz, and one conversion by fullback, Geraldo Doyi.
Glen Roses who were caught napping at the start, seemed to have woken up from a slumber with centre, Adrian Barlow, breaking loose from a scrum and dotting down with the conversion going over.
The score was 12-7 and Glen Roses, with locks Mark Bruintjies and Justin Swanepoel prominent in the lineouts and scrums, were slowly getting back in to the match, setting up camp for a while in the opposition 22.
An infringement by Klipfontein close to the posts, led to a successful penalty kick (12-10). It was all out “war” up front as the both sets of forwards got stuck into each other with the referee halting play frequently so injured players could be attended to.
Klipfontein’s Jacobs who seemed to have an eye for the try line every time he touched the ball scythed through the opposition on the left side of the field to score, with the conversion going over (19-10). The home team were now on the ascendancy with brothers, lock pairing, Francois and Luciano Gunn, turning up the heat in the loose.
Two tries, one by centre Fazel Kay, and a penalty try awarded by the referee when Van Rensburg was impeded after a grubber kick close to Glen Roses’ tryline, saw the score skyrocket to 33-10, when the halftime whistle blew.
The second half was a bit more subdued with both sets of players seemingly exhausted by the intensity in the first half. Klipfontein, besides maintaining their stranglehold with tough tackling and enterprising running, turned the screws on Glen Roses. It was no surprise then when in the 55th minute Francois Gunn scored a well-deserved try, with the conversion being missed (38-10). That was followed soon after by another unconverted try by centre, Denver Miles.
And when Roses centre, Devargo Makwana, crashed over for a consolation try and a successful conversion to make the final score 43-17, the visitors knew they were well and truly beaten.
Fischat remarked after the game that Klipfontein United’s coaching staff had noticed that the team was often losing intensity in the second half.
“So we have just this week signed up to the club former Progress centre, Margo“Bees”, Jacobs to assist the team with tactical play and strategy. He started coaching the backline this week and already there has been positive signs.”
The referee was at the centre of the action once again – he disallowed at least six Klipfontein tries in the first half calling them back each time for an “earlier infringement”.
Glen Roses Club official, Bernard Abrahams, said his players seem to have lost their edge as the game wore on.
“We had our periods where we held our own, but our boys lose a bit of confidence and frustration when things get tough … I think the referee was a little bit hard, but he was like that for both teams.
“But despite the loss our players enjoyed the game and the spirit was good in the taxis taking them back home as they sang all the way back to Gqeberha.”
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, June 19, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
