Powerful mauling helped Elephants trample Leopards, says Coetzee

A dominant display of powerful mauling, which produced three important tries, helped the EP Elephants trample the Leopards 43-31 in Potchefstroom on Saturday, EP coach Allister Coetzee said.

The morale-boosting victory, away from home at Olen Park, saw EP post their first victory of the season and also enabled the Gqeberha side to climb to eighth position on the 10-team SA Cup log.

Next up for the Elephants is a tough sixth-round clash against an unbeaten Griquas side at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (5pm).

A satisfied Coetzee praised his team for showing resilience after they fought their way back into the game against the Leopards after trailing 17-0 midway through the first half.

EP’s Elephants showed fighting character and resilience when they fought back from being 17-0 down in the first half to clinch a much-needed 43-31 victory over the Leopards in Potchefstroom on Saturday, coach Allister Coetzee said. On the way to their first SA Cup win of the season, a determined EP side had to dig deep after they were on the receiving end of a yellow card and later a 20-minute red card during a hard-fought showdown Though it took the EP until the fifth round to put an elusive “W” behind their name, the men in red and black hoops rose to the occasion to grab the points against a combative side who are difficult to beat on their home patch. This had been a must-win game for the Elephants after an earlier run of SA Cup defeats against the Falcons, Pumas, SWD Eagles and Cheetahs. The victory could not have come at a more opportune time for the Elephants, whose next assignment is against a high-flying Griquas side at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (kickoff 5pm). “This win in Potchefstroom was important for us,” Coetzee said. “EP can only build on this result, and it was a tough game. “We got off to a bad start again, but the players really fought back after we were 17-0 down after 23 minutes. “The guys then clawed themselves into the lead for the first time just before halftime when we went 19-17 ahead.” Flying EP wing Mpho Ntsane scored three tries, and there were also five pointers for Damon Royle, Garth April, Buhle Njekwa and Dandre Delport. Fly-half April booted three conversions and replacement No 10 Maxwell Klaasen one to complete EP’s points tally. “Playing with 14 men for 30 minutes was a tough ask, yet we came through and won convincingly in the end,” Coetzee said. “Unfortunately, we had two yellow cards, and the second yellow led to a 20-minute red card for Mpho. “One was deemed to be a deliberate knock-on early in the game, which resulted in a yellow card in the first 15 minutes of the game. “The second yellow card was during a contestable kick incident in the second half. “Mpho contested in the air and made contact, and it was really just a rugby incident.” EP will hope to take confidence from the Leopards’ win into their next game against the unbeaten Griquas, who top the table with a full house of 25 points after five rounds. They stayed on the winning track with a vital 24-14 away win over the Boland Cavaliers in Wellington on Saturday. The Cheetahs moved into the top four thanks to a runaway 57-10 win over the Griffons in Welkom. The Free Staters were under pressure to deliver a victory to keep their hopes of a top-four SA Cup finish and a berth in the Currie Cup Premier Division alive. Border’s nightmare start continued when they were hammered 94-5 by the Pumas at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in KuGompo City. The Bulldogs, who have leaked 315 points, have yet to earn a log point and are rooted to the bottom of the 10-team SA Cup log. Weekend results: Falcons 40 SWD Eagles 43 Griffons 10 Cheetahs 57 Boland Cavaliers 14 Griquas 24; Border Bulldogs 5 Pumas 94 Leopards 31 EP Elephants 43 Log (all teams have played five matches): Griquas 25 Pumas 22 SWD Eagles 22 Cheetahs 18 Boland Cavaliers 15 Griffons 10 Falcons 9 EP Elephants 7 Leopards 7 Border Bulldogs 0 Weekend fixtures: Pumas vs Leopards Boland Cavaliers vs Border Bulldogs SWD Eagles vs Cheetahs Griffons vs Falcons EP Elephants vs Griquas Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

EP have yet to win at home this season after defeats against the Falcons and SWD Eagles and Coetzee is desperate to reverse that trend.

“In the second half we put the squeeze on the Leopards and EP were very good at cutting out mistakes,” Coetzee said.

“We were clinical in scoring back-to-back tries in the second half and EP were also good at mauling, and we scored three tries from that.

“All-in-all I was happy with the win and the performance delivered by the guys.

“So it was an important victory, and now we have to build on it.”

“The game against the Leopards showed the character of the EP team to always fight to the end.

“We really finished really strongly in Potchefstroom.”

Flying EP wing Mpho Ntsane scored three tries, and there were also five pointers for Damon Royle, Garth April, Buhle Njekwa and Dandre Delport.

Fly-half April booted three conversions and replacement No 10 Maxwell Klaasen one, to complete EP’s points tally at Olen Park.

With round six looming, the battle for a top four finish and a place in the Currie Cup Premier Division is heating up with the Griquas (25 points), Pumas (22), SWD Eagles (22), Cheetahs (18) leading the pack.

The Cheetahs clawed their way back into the top four with an emphatic 57-10 win over the Griffons in Welkom on Saturday.

Cheetahs’ captain Neels Volschenk said though the win was a big boost, hard work still lay ahead for his team.

“There’s still plenty we can improve on, especially our discipline early on, where we put ourselves under unnecessary pressure,” he said.

It will be a ferocious win-or-bust duel for EP’s struggling Elephants when they attempt to snap a disturbing four-game losing streak against the Leopards in an SA Cup clash in Potchefstroom on Saturday. An error-prone EP side have battled to make headway and are desperate to rescue their season with a much-needed win at Olen Park (kickoff 3pm). Losses against the Falcons, Pumas, SWD Eagles and Cheetahs in their opening matches have left the Elephants languishing just one place off the bottom of the log. Defeat in Potchefstroom would be a devastating blow to a union which set its sights on ending up among the top four clubs at the start of the season. EP, with a meagre two points behind their name, are four points behind the Leopards on the 10-team log. In their last outing before the Easter break, the Leopards recorded their first win of the campaign with a bonus-point 31–14 victory over the Border Bulldogs in Potchefstroom. At the start of the season, the Leopards would have been one of the teams EP targeted as must-win opponents. After they crashed to a 52–19 defeat against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, frustrated Elephants coach Allister Coetzee called for more accountability from his players. I have to make sure I keep the team in a good space, but I will be really hard on them ahead of the Leopards match, EP leaked eight tries against an adventurous Cheetahs side who dominated during a frenetic second half at Shimla Park. “I have to make sure I keep the team in a good space, but I will be really hard on them ahead of the Leopards match,” Coetzee said. “I will get stuck into the players. “They need to be held to more accountability for effort penalties that are being committed, like being offside, not rolling away and simple stupid penalties. “There is no lack of effort, but one has to ask why we are not taking our opportunities. “I also found that we are rushing when we don’t need to, and we must show more composure with the ball in hand. “We are rushing things and making stupid decisions as if there were no rugby IQ. “These are all learnings, and I have to keep my chin up and continue working at this. “We will have to be much better in the next few games.” The Leopards have put in the hard yards during an intensive pre-season with Riaan van Straten now at the helm as full-time head coach. Van Straten, who brings international experience after a stint coaching in Russia, stepped into the role on an interim basis in 2025 following the departure of Matt Proudfoot, who is now at EP. “There’s a lot of potential here in Potchefstroom and the North West,” he said. “Working alongside the NWU Eagles, I firmly believe that if we put the right systems in place and deliver quality coaching, we can make the Leopards competitive again and produce players for the SA rugby system. “The SA Cup is a very tough competition, and there are no easy games. “This is a big project, and it’s not going to happen overnight. We have to take it step by step, but this season we need to be more competitive, score more tries, and improve our defence.” Saturday’s fixtures: Falcons v SWD Eagles, Leopards v EP Elephants, Griffons v Cheetahs, Boland Cavaliers v Griquas, Border Bulldogs v Pumas Log (all teams have played four matches): Griquas (20), SWD Eagles (17), Pumas (17), Boland Cavaliers (15), Cheetahs (13), Griffons (10), Falcons (7), Leopards (6), EP Elephants (2), Border Bulldogs (0) Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

“But I’m really pleased with how we stuck it out for one another.

“There were times when the Griffons were in our 22, and we had to dig deep, and we did that, which shows the character in the side.

“Our discipline improved nicely in the second half, which is encouraging.

“Our set piece is something we’ll definitely look at this week because it’s a key area for us.

“It was also good to see us move the ball more, and the forwards gave us quality possession, and the backs made the most of it.

“There’s still work to do at the breakdown, but our handling and willingness to play created momentum.”

Log (all teams have played five matches): Griquas 25, Pumas 22, SWD Eagles 22, Cheetahs 18, Boland Cavaliers 15, Griffons 10, Falcons 9, EP Elephants 7, Leopards 7, Border Bulldogs 0.

Weekend fixtures: Friday: Pumas v Leopards. Saturday: Boland Cavaliers v Border Bulldogs, SWD Eagles v Cheetahs, Griffons v Falcons, EP Elephants v Griquas.

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