The Rep 05 August 2022

THE REPRESENTATIVE 5 August 2022 Tel: (045) 839-4040 / editorial: mjekulal@therep.co.za / advertising: charodinev@therep.co.za 15
SPORT SCENE
Progress wins Komani derby against
rivals Old Collegians, amid protest
Result hangs in
balance after
complaints
MAXWELL LEVINE
graphic © liudmyla pushnova / 123RF.com
Progress recorded a 29-13 win
over bitter arch-rivals Old
Collegians in a top-of-the-table
Chris Hani district league fixture last
weekend at the Thobi Kula Stadium.
However, the legitimacy of the
result still hangs in the balance after
Collegians lodged a complaint that the
opposition had used players registered
and playing in other leagues.
However, Progress lodged a counter
protest complaining about the same
issue. Until such time that due process
has taken its course, the identity of the
players will remain confidential.
In the Border Super League, in a
rescheduled match, Fort Hare Blues
and Young Leopards played to a 24-24
draw. The result did little for any
movement on the log, with Yo u n g
Leopards still third on 31 points and
Fort Hare fifth on 26 points.
In the Premier League, WSU Eagles
were in fine form after dispatching
Evergreen 32-12, taking all five points.
Africans bounced back from the last
match setback to register a comfortable
35-17 win over Ngculu Zebras.
It is a big week in Border Rugby,
with several cases having sat last week,
with the outcomes expected this week.
It can have a massive bearing on the
winners of both the Super League but,
more importantly, it will be critical for
the teams at the bottom of both
leagues, whose survival depends on the
outcome of some of these cases.
Spots in the lucrative Eastern Cape
Super 14 are also up for grabs.
With two rounds to play in the
league, starting tomorrow, things are
SQUARING UP: Progress and Old
Collegians players lining up before
the derby match last weekend
Picture: SUPPLIED
hotting up. Black Eagles’ fight for
survival will be tested to the limit when
they host title-chasing Police who
currently top the log on 36 points.
Eagles are at the bottom of the table
on six points.
Ncerha Leopards, on 35 points, are
away to Fort Hare Blues. Nothing but a
win will keep them in the hunt for a
first-ever Super League title.
Fort Hare are mid-table but have the
biggest impact as to where the league
title will go as they will face another
title contender in Police in their final
match next weekend.
Breakers will hope the league recess
has done them good, but they come up
against a well-oiled machine in Young
Leopards. Leopards are third on the log
on 31 points, while Breakers are still
facing relegation fears at11 on the log
with nine points.
Berlin Tigers’ topsy-turvy season
continues when they host Old
Selbornians. Old Boys have also been
blowing hot and cold this season, but
should get the job done against a
notoriously inconsistent Berlin side
lagging in 10th place with 13 points.
Old Boys are fourth on 29 points.
WSU All Blacks travel to Ntlaza for
a date with Lions. Both teams are midtable
and Lions have the chance to
consolidate their Super 14 aspirations.
Swallows play host to Buffaloes. It
has been a difficult season for both
teams, especially Swallows, who are a
shadow of the team that captured the
last Border championship. In the
Premier League, Moonlight face a
tricky trip to Wallabies. A win will
consolidate their spot on top of the log.
Their closest rivals, United Brothers,
face an easy task against Ngculu
Zebras. Africans take on Bussy Boys.
The fight to stay afloat is truly on for
Cambridge when they take on Ocean
Sweepers. Shining Stars are at home
against WSU Eagles, while Evergreen
host Winter Rose. The bottom four
teams in the Premier League are
separated by just one point.
HOOKING AWARDS
ACE ANGLERS: George Nichols, left, and Zander Boucher,
of Reel Run Angling Club, attended the Eastern Cape
Freshwater Bank Angling prize-giving this past weekend,
where they bagged some prizes. Nichols received a merit
award for coming second in the senior team’s Reel Run A,
while Boucher also bagged a merit award for winning in the
junior team Picture: SUPPLIED
Union set to elect new leaders:
The Chris Hani Rugby District Union will hold its annual
general elective meeting tomorrow at the Dsrac boardroom
at Komani Hospital, starting at 10am.
Destiny beckons for Moonlight team
MAXWELL LEVINE
Moonlight has taken the
Premier League by storm. It is
not by chance, but through
sheer will and determination, as
the side has been gradually
growing over the years.
The lack of adequate
sporting facilities and financial
support to perform at the highest
level of Border rugby did not put
a damper on the aspirations of
president Nkululeko Nyangiwe
and his management team but
has, instead, inspired them to do
more and want more for the
Mooiplaas community.
Unbeaten in the Premier
League after nine matches,
Moonlight is sitting pretty at the
summit of the Premier League
with 39 points, four clear of
second-placed United Brothers,
whom they will meet in their
final league fixture.
People tend to undermine
the natural, raw talent in rural
areas, but of late there has been
a resurgence of teams in both
the super and premier leagues,
who have stood firm and are
now of the best on the Border.
The continued capacity to
keep producing super-talented
players is not an easy task, but to
have a “home team” with pride
in their community, comes to
most of these players as the
number one priority.
So, who is Moonlight? The
team was established in 1976
and originates from Sotho
Village in Mooiplaas under the
Great Kei. It’s been a long road
for the side to eventually fulfil
their ambition of playing against
the big boys of Border rugby.
There is no glory without
sacrifices and the bumpy roads
often lead to a better place.
Moonlight knows how it feels to
LOADS OF
TROPHIES:
Moonlight
p re s i d e n t
Nkululeko
Nyangiwe
has taken his
side to
g re a t e r
heights in
their first
season in the
P re m i e r
League
P i c t u re :
SOURCED
be in the darkest places and
have worked tremendously hard
to be where they are today.
From 2002, after
participating in the first division,
they have stumbled and come
short of promotion on various
occasions. One such was in
2006 when they were beaten
22-19 by Evergreens in the final
of the promotional play-offs at
Absa Stadium. 2008 was a low
point in the proud club’s history
when they were relegated to the
Sunday league, after most of
their players went to Rustenburg
for better work opportunities,
leaving an inexperienced side.
After a long nine years in the
Sunday league, in 2017
Moonlight won the
championship that prompted
promotion back to the first
division. Again there was
heartbreak in 2018 when they
lost in the promotional play-offs
to the premier league.
The team was ecstatic to
finally realise their dream of
playing in the Premier League in
2019 after gaining promotion.
Covid put a minor halt to their
upward trajectory when rugby
was called off in 2020 and
2021.
Even in their days of
campaigning in the first
division, Moonlight was always
a force to be reckoned with,
having beaten teams like
Swallows and played teams like
Berlin Tigers, Black Eagles and
won many tournaments,
including a whopping R25,000
tourney in Kei Road, organised
by premier Phumulo Masualle
with a host of super and premier
league clubs participating.
Moonlight is left with two
matches – against Wallabies
and United Brothers. Destiny to
higher honours is in their hands.