But let me begin by congratulating the Sharks on their victory.  They played well and showed a tremendous fighting spirit.
The inability of the Stormers to do the basics of rugby at a 100% level cost them the match.  The Stormers could not control the ball from kick-offs and that cost them points (this is a problem of the Stormers that has been coming along for a number of years).  And why do you kick-away turn-around possession?
But all in all, 2012 was a great rugby season for the Stormers.  My congratulations again to all the players and the coaching staff.

CLUB RUGBY NEWS
THE GROWL OF A TIGER
A tiger in a corner is a dangerous tiger! Durbanville/Bellville experienced the growl of the Tiger when they were beaten last week-end by Tygerberg.  After a disappointing few months in Super League A it seems that the team from Florida Park is finding its feet and they will look forward to end the season strongly.
This week-end the Tygerberg Team will face a stern test when they will travel to Stellenbosch to play against Vics.
The big attraction this week-end in Super League A will be the clash against frontrunners Durbanville/Bellville and the Maties.  Will Durbies get on the winning track again or will the honours go the Maties? Come to Durbanville on Saturday and watch a clash between two very strong teams.
The match against Ikeys and Hamiltons will be a very, very tough one and the same can be said for the match between Belhar and False Bay.

SUPER LEAGUE B
In Super League B the log leaders, Helderberg, will play against Kuils River and on their current form the team from Somerset-West should be too strong for their opponents.  NNK is chasing hard for a second spot in this league and they will go flat-out to take full points this week-end in their clash against Brackenfell.  Pniel/Villagers will be playing at home against Hands & Hearts.

PREMIER LEAGUE A
In Premier League A the only match this week-end is between UWC and Elsies River.  UWC are still unbeaten this season and it will be very difficult for Elsies River to take points in this match.

PREMIER LEAGUE B
Eerste River will face a very difficult task when they will clash against Macassar.  The match between Franschhoek and Milnerton will be a tough one to call, whilst Van der Stel will play against Lagunya over the week-end.

THE STEP-UP TO A HIGHER LEAGUE
In a column of mine last year, I wrote about the difficulty of many teams after being promoted to a higher league.  Over the years many new teams in a league found the standard of play too high for them.  In this column I stressed the fact that for teams to do well in a higher league they need to prepare well in the off-season (with the emphasis on conditioning).
Let us have a look and see how the teams that earned promotion in 2012 have done thus far.

TYGERBERG IS FINDING ITS FEET
In Super League A Tygerberg started the season very slowly and looked out of their depth.  But in the last two weeks they have clinched excellent victories and they want to finish the season on a strong note to get out of the relegation zone.  The battle for points between the bottom of the log teams of Tygerberg, Belhar, False Bay and Villager will be very interesting to watch.

GOODWOOD A BIT UNLUCKY
The newcomer in Super League B this year, Goodwood, is currently second from the bottom on the log.  What this stats do not show is that the Goodwood team had a number of very close results and with a bit of luck their
log position would have been markedly different.  

DEPTH IS A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
UWC moved up from Premier League B to Premier League A this year with ease and aplomb.  The students are still unbeaten this year.  The depth of the club – especially in the under 20 ranks, is one of the main reasons for the success of the club.

EERSTE RIVER KEEPS GOING FORWARD
Newcomers in Premier League B, Eerste River, have done very well thus far and they are currently 3rd on the log.  Well done and keep it up!

MANENBERG ARE GOING PLACES
Manenberg en Rocklands were the two teams to be promoted last year from Division 2 to Division 1.   Both teams are doing very well in Division 1 with Manenberg on top of the log and Rocklands in 4th spot.  Well done to both teams and keep up the good work.

VIOLETS SHOW THEY CAN
Violets and Tech-Gardens were the two teams to be promoted last year from Division 3 to Division 2.  Violets have played very well this year in the higher league and they are currently in the 3rd position on the log with Tech-Gardens in the 7th spot.

MASI – A SUCCESS STORY
Masi are going from strength to strength.  Last year they won Division 4 and this year they are well on their way to win the 3rd Division.  Well done guys and keep it up!

Looking at all the results of the newcomers in the leagues this year – it seems they are doing well.  This is good news for WP Clubrugby.

Rugby greetings
Herman Abrahams