High Drama

High drama came as standard in the Pick n Pay Gold Cup’s Round of 16, with nail-biting results and large crowds once again epitomising the community spirit of the ‘FA Cup’ of South African club rugby.

The country’s pre-eminent knockout championship for non-university clubs – which is sponsored by the national retail chain for the second time as part of a four-year agreement that includes becoming Tier 1 sponsors of SA Rugby – is also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the grassroots spirit of the Pick n Pay Gold Cup.

If Saturday was not one of the finest and most thrilling days the club game in this country has ever seen, then it surely came very close.

In the North section, defending champions Sanlam Naka Bulls kept alive their dreams of what would be an unprecedented fourth successive crown when they pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the tournament, scoring twice in the dying moments to beat fellow Bulls side Centurion 46-45 in a tense derby played in front of a capacity crowd.

In a match that ultimately produced no less than 15 tries, Centurion looked to have the game sewn up at 45-36 with the seconds ticking away, but Naka’s never-say-die attitude translated into late scores from replacements Etienne Storm and Franco Botha that keep their “four-peat” hopes on track.

Not to be outdone, Randfontein (Lions) emulated Naka’s one-point win on the road when they pipped Vereeniging (Valke) 48-47 in equally dramatic circumstances. In a see-sawing match that served up 13 tries – seven of them to the home side – it was Randfontein flyhalf Keagan Fortune’s sharpshooting skills that proved to be the difference, with an 18-point haul made up of six conversions and two penalty goals.

The West Randers’ reward is another away trip, this time to the country’s capital, for a quarter-final date with the imperious three-time defending champions.

On the other side of the draw, former Gold Cup semi-finalists Brakpan underlined their status as one of the tournament’s dark horses when they scored 14 tries in dispatching White River 86-7 to set up a quarter-final at their Bosman Stadium fortress against perennial title-contenders Northam Platinum Rhinos, who beat their sister club, Wolves, 42-24 in Setaria thanks to a brace of tries by centre Pule Molokomme and 15 points from the boot of flyhalf Jaylen James.

In the South section, 2015 Gold Cup champions Durbanville-Bellville (Western Province) turned the tables on fellow Cape Town side and last year’s runners-up, Villager, with a heart-stopping 32-27 win at Brookside in a match of two halves.

Durbell raced to a four-try, 32-12 half-time lead, thanks to a brace from scrumhalf Keegan Joubert, but were left scoreless after the break as the home side clawed their way back to the brink of what would have been a famous come-from-behind victory, only for them to spill the ball on the tryline to bring the curtain down on what remains a remarkable 150th-anniversary season for Villager, who claimed the WP league and cup double.

Durbell’s quest for a second national title will now take them up north to Wellington, where they will face Roses United at Pelikaan Park, where another capacity crowd is expected.

Roses, coached by former Boland Kavaliers player Brendon April, reached the quarter-finals thanks to a hard-fought 24-17 victory over tournament surprise packages Bloemfontein Police in a match that produced seven tries.

Gardens (Eastern Province), who reached the last eight in 2025, booked their place in the business end of the tournament once again thanks to a thrilling 22-17 victory over Boland champions Saldanha at a packed and rain-soaked Central Ground in Kariega.

In a match that saw hundreds of travelling supporters make their way from the West Coast to the Eastern Cape, both sides scored three tries, but it was replacement Pedro Barendse’s 70th-minute score in the right-hand corner that proved the difference between the teams.

Gardens will now travel to Durban to face College Rovers – a team they have previously beaten in the Gold Cup – after the 2012 national champions displayed their title ambitions with a six-try, 44-5 derby demolition of Crusaders, coached by former Springbok fullback and 2014 Gold Cup-winning coach, Hugh Reece-Edwards.

“It is easy to say that community rugby has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, which our data clearly shows it has, but we saw the real proof this past weekend not on paper, but on the field and in the stands,” said SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer.

“There was a palpable sense of occasion and jeopardy, while the packed venues everywhere from Gauteng to Nelson Mandela Bay, and the Cape Winelands to the mining heartlands of Limpopo, showed just what community rugby means to South Africans of every background.

“I cannot thank our tournament sponsors, Pick n Pay and Northam Platinum, enough for fully buying into what we are trying to achieve in the community rugby space The good news is that, in many ways, our project is only getting started, and that fills me with great excitement as we look to shine an even brighter spotlight on community rugby in the years to come.”

Round of 16 Results:

North Section:

Saturday 3 October:

Centurion 45 (25) Naka Bulls 46 (26)

Brakpan 86 (43) White River 7 (0)

Northam Rhinos 42 (20) Northam Wolves 24 (12)

Vereeniging 47 (26) Randfontein 48 (24)

South Section:

Saturday 3 October:

Gardens 22 (7) Saldanha 17 (10)

Villager 27 (12) Durbanville-Bellville 32 (32)

Roses United 24 (12) Bloemfontein Police 17 (7)

Sunday 4 October:

College Rovers 44 (17) Crusaders 5 (5)

Quarter-final fixtures, Sat 10 October:

North Section:

Naka Bulls v Randfontein (Pretoria) *

Brakpan v Northam Rhinos (Brakpan)

South:

Roses United v Durbanville-Bellville (Wellington)

College Rovers v Gardens (Durban)

* Both sides won their Round of 16 matches by one point. Naka Bulls will host the quarter-final based on superior combined points difference across their last two matches (+8 vs +2).