KZN club champions College Rovers beat a strong PUK side yesterday to advance to their third National Club Championships final in five years.
The 33-14 scoreline was a convincing one in favour of the Durban team, who despite their impressive record of final appearances have yet to lift the trophy. The Rovers side, captained by former Sharks Currie Cup fullback Chris Jordaan in the absence of regular skipper Justin Downey, ran in five tries against only two by their opponents. In a team chock-full of Sharks fringe players, it was inside centre Rudi Keil who did most of the damage, scoring twice.
Further tries were scored by wing Anton Verster, outside centre Trompie Pretorius and impressive openside flanker Kosie Haarhof. The victory was built on a strong showing from the Rovers pack, featuring further Sharks representatives in Anton Bresler and Jody Jenneker, while Sabelo Nhlapo has played under 21 and Vodacom Cup rugby for the province and Monde Hadebe is a Baby Bok.
Rovers will face a strong Maties side in the final on Friday and will hope that their rock-solid defence and in-form pack can finally help them bring the title to Durban at their third attempt. Come on the ROVER! Let’s go all the way this time.

Lets get behind our boys here…
Bring that Cup home Rover.
No
Rob, what’s happened to Jody Jenneker? Lost form or been out injured? Looked like a decent prospect a few years ago with lots of fire in the belly ala LoerKwas Van Biljoen.
@Morné (Comment 2) : no what?
@war1 (Comment 4) :
Rovers to make it third time lucky?
No.
I hope they can..
Good luck boys!
Good luck boys bring da trophy back 2 durbs. Last time i think kzn won it was crusaders back in the day
Will these Rovers team be our (KZN) Varsity Cup team in a perfect future??
@Jarson (Comment 8) : no, cos of petty agendas 🙁
so – Kosie Haarhof… Have the Sharks missed a trick with this oke? Or are there just too many good flankers about?
@Morné (Comment 5) : 👿 😉
This game is on TV.
Any chance of updates from anyone in SA with CSN or SS1?
Match starts in 33min time.
can anyone do score updates?
I’ll try keep you posted based on what I find on Twitter
cool
3-0 Rovers after 4 mins. Penalty Horse Dunlop
😯 @robdylan (Comment 17) :
Telll me that is a nickname?????????????????????
still 3-0 Rovers after 16 minutes
Still 3-0 to rovers after 20 mins
@KSA Pink Shark © (Comment 18) : yes… his real name is Wes 🙂
pen rovers 23 min 6 -0
@ruggabugga (Comment 22) : yes yes yes!
6 – 0 To Rovers after 25mins. Horse kicks like crap in a strong wind. Missed 2 of 4 attempts.
Maties try!
maties miss conversion after scoring down the right 26 min score 6-5
@robdylan (Comment 21) :
Still doesn’t make sense to me.
Why would you call someone Horse Wes?
in my experience Wes = Dunlop or is that Michelin?
😛
maties try. 6-5
rover committing to many mistakes ,maties getting stronger
jenneker looking a lot more portley than in his sharks days
@KSA Pink Shark © (Comment 27) : I have no idea why they call him Horse 🙂
jerome pretorius try ROVERS!!!
rover 11 – 5 wes misses
TROMMMPIIIIEEEEEE!!!!
@robdylan (Comment 34) : in die box om bende!!
@robdylan (Comment 31) :
Maybe that kick was from inside his own 22? 😛
@KSA Pink Shark © (Comment 36) : that’s not the angle I was going with, but ok 🙂
😳
Halftime
5 – 11
11-5 up at half time
@Oubaas2009 (Comment 3) : Jenneker is playing blindside flank for Rovers now and seems to be doing bloody well!
2nd Half just started
I would have preffered the Rovers’ jerseys to be another colour.
@Jarson (Comment 42) : Perhaps Black, maybe White
@Jarson (Comment 42) : true but they always been like that
12 – 11 to Maties
47mins
🙁
14 -12 rovers 49 mins
12 – 14 Rovers
49mins
😀
come on rovers only 1/2 hour more!!
4 Games in 7 days, that’s hectic 😯
come on the Rover!
@Jarson (Comment 49) : at least it’s the same for all the teams
2nd half posession maties 53% rovers 47%
@robdylan (Comment 51) : player management nightmare
Trompie intercept try!!
jerome p intercept try rovers!!!
@ruggabugga (Comment 55) : I beat you by a second 😛
21 -12 rovers
YES!
Maties 12 – 21 Rovers
58mins gone
@Jarson (Comment 56) : my typing like a tortoise 😳 😳
@Jarson (Comment 59) : where you watching J?
@ruggabugga (Comment 61) : At home, in the lounge 😉 On SS1 🙂
@Jarson (Comment 62) : yeah me too ,braai @ 3;00
comeon Rovers… just hold on.
Or better… score again!
Unconstested scrums now, Rovers lost all their props to injury. 😯
@Jarson (Comment 65) : oh bugger… hope Sabz is ok
It feels like a Saterday, I havent had a Friday off in ages 😛
@robdylan (Comment 66) : It didnt look that bad really.
Rovers falling like flies in a spray of Doom. They’ll remember this game oraait 😯
is it full time yet?
21-15 rovers maties just got penalty
Maties penalty
15 – 21 Rovers
8mins left
Rovers on attack with 5mins left just outside Maties 22.
Penalty! Going for goal!
Miss!
rovers miss penalty still 21-15
@Jarson (Comment 73) : COME ON HORSE!
@robdylan (Comment 76) : oh man!
Maties knock!
Dunlop drop goal!
2mins left
Maties on attack 5 meters out!
rovers win new club champs!!!!!
Rovers win!!!
ROVERS!!!!!!
Fulltime
Maties 15 – 24 Rovers
😛
This proofs that KZN should have a team in the Varsity Cup!
Captain Chris Jordaan is MOTM.
Jody Jenneker Forward player of the tournament.
yes… we should
we beat 3 varsity cup sides on the way to this!
@robdylan (Comment 37) :
I figured as much but was going for the cleaner image sorta thing. 🙂
EXCELLENT STUFF ROVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YeeHaa.
@Morné (Comment 2) :
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 😉
@Jarson (Comment 79) :
Can we trademark the phrase, “The Dunlop Drop” 😀
Well done to the Rover Boys !!
This is their time….
@StretchB (Comment 93) : go the Rover! 🙂
@KSA Pink Shark © (Comment 92) : I think we should 😛
** I INTERRUPT MY DAY OF HANGING BLINDS, CLEANING GUTTERS AND KILLING WEED TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT **
In future I am just going to STFU when it comes to predictions!
Mind you, I am 100% UCT so could not be happier for a Maties loss, well done to Rovers, another open club wins the Club Champs!!!
And now, even more than ever, there is an argument to include Kwa-Zulu Natal in the Varsity Cup – the talent is obviously there.
(Rob get onto an article and send it to Van Zyl!)
@Morné (Comment 96) :
I agree we have the players in KZN to play Varsity Cuo the only problem is we don’t have a VARSITY side good enough to play Varsity cup. Our 2 (or 3) Varsity sides are barely if at all in the Natal Premier Div.
Pmb Varsity ended 3 from Bottom out of 9 clubs in the premier Div.
Dbn Varsity ended 1 st in the Bottom 4 of the South section in what is effectively our 3rd tier league. (confusing I know)
http://www.kznrugby.co.za/logs.html
Westvile university??????/ Do they still exist?
@KSA Pink Shark © (Comment 97) :
KSA, the solution is very simple dude, Sharks Academy + University = Varsity team
@Morné (Comment 98) :
That IS a good solution actually. The Academy is an academic institution so they should qualify.
@Morné (Comment 98) : problem is, common sense is ironically not all that common
@KSA Pink Shark © (Comment 99) :
My point exactly, Sharks through the academy brings the rugby side of things, whichever Varsity they partner with, brings the education side of things to make it ‘legal’ or a legal Varsity team, i.e. all Academy players have to be studying some degree or course at that partner uni.
But I am not going to take credit for that, Rob mentioned this I just cannot remember if it was one of our private conversations or in an article…
there is some sort of player swap deal that goes on between Rovers and Maritzburg, but I can’t understand exactly what it is.
Sharks Academy has a fair bit of say in which clubs each player goes to. I would hope they would now prioritise giving the cream to Maritzburg
@Morné (Comment 101) : as far as I know, the academy already has a similar deal with varsity college which is a distance learning institution, I’m not sure how getting a KZN university involved would work in light of that
@war1 (Comment 104) :
It would mean partnering with a parastatal…
Well done Rovers
@war1 (Comment 104) : you need to get your fifth star, pronto 🙂
Anything associeted with college is good .How many players from KZN schools are in the College Rovers team but thats still a good win beating maties is no fluke ,I don,t understand why everyones saying College Rovers should be in the Varsity Cup because there not a university unless of course the univesitys are allowed to use players who don,t attend the university
@zvision10 (Comment 108) :
It all depends if the club at the varsity is an open club or not.
Well I know UCT,S a open club but what I don,t understand ,are they allowed to use the players who donh,t attend classes at UCT for the varsity cup if there allowed to then the answer is for the kznru to send more players to ukzn club team when there distributing contracted players among the clubs .Now I don,t know if there,s politics stopping that from happening but it,s a simple solution ,so simple infact I think there must be a reason they havn,t done it
@robdylan (Comment 107) : he he, im working on it, need to put a good few articles out this coming week
Tubby Jeneker.. The oke had a blinder of a tournie it seems. A number 7. who throws in at the lineouts.. Such a bustling player, I wonder why he disappeared so quickly from the ranks. Forward Player of the Tournament officially. He should move over to Castle Lite though, I would be proud of that gut he sports these days!