Deadly Strike of the Tomahawk

Round Three of the Protea Cup saw all four clubs really getting down to the business of playing high-tension and competitive league. The Tomahawks were the first to throw down the gauntlet by stopping the log-leaders, the Loskop Leopards, in their tracks. Displaying a ruthless efficiency, the Axe Men, crossed the Leopards goal-line a record seven times. The failure of the team’s principal kickers to convert every one of the hard-won tries, however, prevented the team from registering a more comprehensive win. Leopards, however, never gave up and scored four tries of their own. Likewise, their kickers only converted two tries. The end result, a close of 36-21.

As respectable title contestants, Wolverines and the Silverbacks were equally good value for money. Both played only their second match in this year’s competition. They went into the round with full knowledge of the different games and points advantage that the Leopards already had to their credit. Both teams understood the danger of mediocrity and under-performance. What was required was nothing less than a championship performance. A drawn match and shared match-points would, in the long run, only benefit the Loskop stalkers. 

 The end result was an all-action try-festival in which both clubs contributed a collective total of 13 tries. Of these, the Wolverines scored six and the Silverbacks seven. Werner Barnard, in a master-class of goal-kicking, converted all six of the Wolverines tries and helped them to secure a 36 – 28 victory. This performance resulted in him winning the weekly Golden Boot of the Week Award. The kickers of the Silverbacks, however, failed to convert any of their seven-goal kicks into points. In the process, they forfeited 14 points and a potential victory to boot. This notwithstanding, the current points table indicates that all four sides are still in contention for the eventual league title. As far as the points difference is concerned, the Leopards is topping the log with 47 over three games, while the Tomahawks boasted with 35 after a similar number of matches.



SALSA Protea cup

Match 1 - Tomahawks 36 - 21 Leopards
Tomahawks - Tries
 Luigi Cirigliano 2,
 Alec Duncan, 
 Zimri Buchling, 
 Jeandre Muller,
 Zevey Geel,
 Andre Thomas

 Conversions
 Jeandre Muller 2,
 Zimri Buckling
Penalty
 Luigi Cirigliano

Leopards -Tries
 P v Heerden,
 N Rust,
 R Horn
 P Pretorius

Conversion
 G Gendall 2
Drop Goal
 A Muller

Match 2 - Wolverines 36 - 28 Silverbacks

Wolverines - Tries
 Gerald Gibson 2
 Franco Cloete 2
 Carlo Cloete 
 Kali Grung
Conversions
 Werner Barnard 6

Silverbacks - Tries
 Stephan Andreson 2,
 Mathew Reynolds 2,
 Zuke Da Wula, 
 Armand Olivier,
 Jason Dicks.

Hat-trick Try-scorer of the Week:
- None

Double-Header Try-scorer of the Week:
 Stephan Andreson 2 (Silverbacks)
 Mathew Reynolds 2  (Silverbacks)
 Gerald Gibson 2  (Wolverines)
 Franco Cloete 2  (Wolverines)
 Luigi Cirigliano 2  (Tomahawks)

 Golden Boot of the Week:
 Werner Barnard 6 (Wolverines)