Life in the Western Province Super League A can be cruel at times.
Just ask the guys at Primrose Rugby Club after their re-introduction to the top flight in the WP league.
Having been promoted from Super League B at the end of last season, Primrose kicked off their new campaign against the University of Cape Town last weekend.
But fans were left with a bitter taste in their mouths after Ikeys ran out 54-10 victors in the end, thanks to a brace of tries by scrumhalf Kyle Bowman and six more by his teammates.
For Primrose, it doesn’t get any easier this weekend when they host title challengers False Bay at Rosmead on Saturday.
UNSTOPPABLE: Ikey James MacDonald. Photo: Noor Slamdien.
The Bay got their season off to a winning start, as expected, with left-wing Chadleigh Cloete scoring a hattrick of tries as they beat SK Walmers 39-24 at Green Point Track.
While the opening weekend wasn’t too kind to Primrose, fellow league newcomers Paarl proved that they won’t go down without a fight this year when they narrowly lost to Brackenfell 17-18 in their opener.
Paarl’s resilience will be tested big time this weekend, however, when they host UniMil.
The men from Milnerton were on fire in the first round, shocking Hamiltons 63-29.
Hammies will be a worried outfit after the first week, as UniMil found it way too easy to break their defence line.
RUN: Ikey Liam Groenhalgh. Photo: Noor Slamdien.
One of the tries of the round was scored by DRC-born former Boland Cavaliers looseforward Yves Bashiya.
Catching the ball from a restart after yet another UniMil try, Bashiya ran through five Hamiltons tacklers to sprint home almost the entire length of the field for his five-pointer.
With their loosies on song, Milnerton have already proven that they will be tough to stop this year.
Meanwhile, False Bay’s Cloete wasn’t the only winger to bag a hattrick of tries on the weekend.
At Florida Park, the Tiere faithful were kept on the edge of their seats by the exciting Julian Karolus who dotted down three times, while Lucan Kirschner bagged a brace as they beat Victorians 43-38 in a try-fest that delivered no fewer than 13 touchdowns.
HARD TIME: Primrose's Walika Ntazakhe. Photo: Noor Slamdien.
The Tiere this week host Villager at 5pm on Saturday in what is expected to be another open encounter.
Villager too proved that they like to play an expansive game of rugby by thumping NTK 57-14 last weekend.