The battle is on in Rugby Premier League 

With the Rugby Premier League at about the halfway stage before the knockout stages begin, the battle is on for a place in the semifinals.

FNB Wanderers are way ahead of the pack on 23 points and certain to reach the knockout stages, but the battle for the other three semifinal spots is still wide open.

FNB Kudus are second on 13 points, followed by Trustco United (11), FNB Grootfontein (10), FNB Unam and FNB Western Suburbs on seven points each, FNB Rehoboth (6) and FNB Reho Falcons (5). Only bottom-of-the-log FNB Dolphins (0) seem to be out of the running, although they still have a mathematical chance to make the top four.

The Wanderers machine travels south to take on Rehoboth tomorrow and will start as firm favourites to make it five wins in a row. They have accumulated 257 points and conceded 65 so far, at an aggregate of 66-16 per game, and with their powerful pack and hard running backs will provide a huge challenge for the home side.

Rehoboth coach Jackey Bock however said they are well prepared and hoping to cause an upset.

“We’ve had a couple of good sessions and finalised the team early so the guys are settled and very excited about the challenge against Wanderers. 

“It will be a huge task because Wanderers have very good structures and nearly 90% of their players are in the national side, but we will give it our best shot and I also have a few tricks up my sleeve,” he said. 

Kudus host Western Suburbs and a humdinger could be in store, with both teams eager to get back to winning ways. Kudus lost a thriller 32-31 to United in their last match and their secretary Wilfred Muller said they need to make a statement after their defeat to United. 

“The players have been working hard and the team is gelling nicely now. The players know they have to make a strong comeback now because if we lose it will make the road to the semis much more difficult. Wanderers have built up a big gap at the top so we need to reduce it,” he said. 

Suburbs had a great start to the season, winning their opening two matches against Unam and Grootfontein under new coach Jood Opperman, but since then they’ve unravelled a bit, losing to Rehoboth and United. Besides that they were also deducted three points for fielding unregistered players against Unam, while they will be without Opperman who is currently with the national u20 team in Zimbabwe. Opperman yesterday, however, said that the team is well prepared and ready for the match. 

“I haven’t been with the team for a week now but I’ll have a teleconference call with the assistant coaches tonight to tie up some loose ends. But our players are ready for the game, and I trust and believe that they will be motivated and have the right attitude for the game.

“We are expecting a very physical and tactical game, because their coach Roger Thompson is a highly respected coach and he is very clinical on the various facets of the game, so we must just make sure that we execute well and get points when we are in their territory. 

“I’m expecting a hard match – both teams have got strong packs of forwards and good backline players, but Kudus are definitely the favourites and we will start as the underdogs. 

“The players that I select and send in to battle must know that I expect a lot of them and they must just give their best. Our aim is to finish in the top four and we hope that the men will put up a good show at the coast,” he said.

Trustco United host Reho Falcon, who will be in confident mood after they beat Rehoboth 25-21 in their last match a fortnight. 

United should start as the favourites on their home turf, but head coach Robbie Dickson said they will not underestimate Falcons. 

“We are looking forward to the game this weekend, and we’ve put a lot of work in since our last game against Suburbs. We’ve spent a lot of time on our set-pieces especially the scrums and the lineouts; and we’ve been working hard on fitness and our defensive and attacking structures. 

“It’s going to be a very hard game against Falcons, they always give their best when they come to United, but we are looking forward to the match and hope to win it,” he said. 

Unam, meanwhile, travel north to take on Grootfontein in another match that could go down to the wire. Fourth-placed Grootfontein currently lead Unam  by three points on the log, but the students have a game in hand and a win could be a vital boost for their stop-start campaign so far.

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