by Ben-Piet Lotter
We return with fervent anticipation to the Bill Jardine Stadium where Raiders will be hosting Alberton in this week’s Feature Match of the Castle Lager Pirates Grand Challenge. Alberton with only one win under the belt after three matches, will be hoping to cause an upset. Raiders, at home after narrowly losing to Roodepoort last week, will have other ideas. Alberton forwards coach Hendrik Paulsen says the team will look to build on the fighting spirit shown last week and hope to convert that into more scoring opportunities. The coaches have made a few tactical changes and kept some experience and power on the bench.
It is going to be a tough contest for Wanderers against NWU but one that Guy Coutts and his troops will take head-on. NWU are the in-form team in the competition and will provide a stern test for The Chiefs at Kent Park.
Pirates made light work of Alberton last week, but WITS will be a more formidable opponent. Pirates backline coach, George Makwena says they are looking forward to a battle of the giants, a cracker. They won’t underestimate WITS but want to leave with a win. WITS forwards coach, Sabelo Nhlapo echoes the sentiment, expecting a tough encounter knowing they will have to counter a clinical and effective Rats pack with an exciting backline to boot.
Roodepoort will travel up Ontdekkers Road to UJ Stadium on Saturday, expecting an intense, high-tempo affair against the students. Roodepoort Coach Neil Kalify sees every week as a new challenge and opportunity. He and the team are “up for it”, well prepared, and looking forward to the challenge. Get ready for an exciting Saturday of rugby, join us for the Feature Match at Raiders, get down to your local club, or catch the live stream here. All first-team games kick off at 16:00.
