GOLD CUP QUARTER-FINALS: THREE DOWN, ONE WASHED OUT, AND BOLAND'S RUN IS OVER
College Rovers 64-0, Durbanville-Bellville 52-17 away at Roses United, Naka Bulls 45-37 — and Brakpan v Northam Rhinos stopped by lightning.
Three quarter-finals done. One stopped by lightning. And Boland's last hope in the Pick n Pay Gold Cup is gone.
Saturday 10 October delivered a landslide, a shootout, a one-sided win over the Boland's last side and a storm. Results below are as reported on the official Gold Cup Rugby page.
COLLEGE ROVERS 64-0 GARDENS (Kings Park 3, Durban) The statement of the day. College Rovers, who last won the Gold Cup in 2012, kept Gardens scoreless and put 64 points on them, following a 44-5 Round of 16 win over Crusaders. Gardens, the Eastern Province side known for entertaining, high-scoring rugby, had scraped past Saldanha 22-17 on Pedro Barendse's try in the 70th minute. They had no answer here.
ROSES UNITED 17-52 DURBANVILLE-BELLVILLE (Pelikaan Park, Wellington) Boland's last side in the competition went out at home. Roses United beat Bloemfontein Police 24-17 in the Round of 16 and were chasing a first-ever semi-final, having never got past the quarter-finals. Durbell, the 2015 champions who knocked out 2025 finalists Villager 32-27 in the Round of 16, were far too strong, scoring 52 points.
SANLAM NAKA BULLS 45-37 RANDFONTEIN (Naka Bulls Rugby Club, Pretoria) The three-time defending champions survived another thriller. The Bulls got past Centurion 46-45 in the Round of 16 after trailing by nine; Randfontein had edged Vereeniging 48-47. This time there were 82 points between the sides, and the Bulls found just enough.
BRAKPAN v NORTHAM PLATINUM RHINOS (Bosman Stadium, Brakpan): POSTPONED A lightning storm stopped play after 15 minutes with the home side leading 7-5. The match has been moved to 12:00 noon on Sunday 11 October. Brakpan arrive off an 86-7 Round of 16 win over White River; the Rhinos, semi-finalists in 2025 and still chasing a first title, beat Northam Wolves 42-24. Whether the match resumes or restarts has not been confirmed to us. The 7-5 is not a result.
WHAT'S NEXT North section: Naka Bulls and the Brakpan/Rhinos winner. South section: College Rovers and Durbanville-Bellville. Semi-final pairings and dates have not been confirmed to us yet; we will update when they are.
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Results: official Gold Cup Rugby page. Background: Diamond Fields Advertiser.