It was a disappointing weekend for the Border Bulldogs as it was confirmed that they would miss out on the quarterfinals of this year’s SuperSport Rugby Challenge.
The Bulldogs went into the final weekend of group stage action in quarterfinal contention, but needing results to go their way to make sure of their progress into the knockouts.
In the end it came very close, but was not enough as they agonisingly missed out on points difference by just a single point.
“It is disappointing to miss out on the quarterfinals,” Bulldogs coach David Dobela said.
“We have no one to blame but ourselves, we were in a very strong position a few weeks ago and then let it slip.”
It was the Cheetahs, who almost let the Bulldogs back in after they were hammered by the Sharks, to almost drop their points difference below the Bulldogs.
Going into the weekend the Bulldogs needed one of two things, for either the Boland Kavaliers to beat the Eastern Province Kings without a bonus point, or for the Cheetahs to be smashed by a monster margin, which looked like the less likely of the two.
The Kings easily dispatched the Kavaliers to progress into the quarters, while the Cheetahs fell to a heavy 52-10 defeat against the Sharks, which saw their points difference tumble from negative six before the match to negative 48 after, just one ahead of the Bulldogs.
“Missing out by just a point was so unlucky, we almost snuck past the Cheetahs, but it shouldn't have come down to that,” said Dobela.
“We shouldn’t have lost the match against Boland, if we had won that game we would have been in the quarterfinals, and then in the match against Eastern Province we also let it slip and a win there would have also been enough.
“So it came down to us not doing it ourselves and leaving our fate out of our hands.”
The Bulldogs will now have a couple of months off from competitive rugby as they look ahead to the Currie Cup First Division, getting under way towards the end of August.
Last year the Bulldogs did very well, eventually coming short in the semifinals of the First Division and they will be aiming for an even better effort this time round.
“The guys have a bit of a break now and I think it comes at a good time, but they will be back at training next week,” said Dobela.
“I do think that having this time off could be fruitful for us, we will have more time to prepare and I think we will be very ready for the Currie Cup First Division.
“It is a crucial year for us and I think we can do even better than last year, the guys will be up for it and we want to do well.”
The Bulldogs first First Division game will be on August 26 when they will host the Valke.
Bulldogs come short by skin of their teeth
The Bulldogs went into the final weekend of group stage action in quarterfinal contention, but needing results to go their way to make sure of their progress into the knockouts.
In the end it came very close, but was not enough as they agonisingly missed out on points difference by just a single point.
“It is disappointing to miss out on the quarterfinals,” Bulldogs coach David Dobela said.
“We have no one to blame but ourselves, we were in a very strong position a few weeks ago and then let it slip.”
It was the Cheetahs, who almost let the Bulldogs back in after they were hammered by the Sharks, to almost drop their points difference below the Bulldogs.
Going into the weekend the Bulldogs needed one of two things, for either the Boland Kavaliers to beat the Eastern Province Kings without a bonus point, or for the Cheetahs to be smashed by a monster margin, which looked like the less likely of the two.
The Kings easily dispatched the Kavaliers to progress into the quarters, while the Cheetahs fell to a heavy 52-10 defeat against the Sharks, which saw their points difference tumble from negative six before the match to negative 48 after, just one ahead of the Bulldogs.
“Missing out by just a point was so unlucky, we almost snuck past the Cheetahs, but it shouldn't have come down to that,” said Dobela.
“We shouldn’t have lost the match against Boland, if we had won that game we would have been in the quarterfinals, and then in the match against Eastern Province we also let it slip and a win there would have also been enough.
“So it came down to us not doing it ourselves and leaving our fate out of our hands.”
The Bulldogs will now have a couple of months off from competitive rugby as they look ahead to the Currie Cup First Division, getting under way towards the end of August.
Last year the Bulldogs did very well, eventually coming short in the semifinals of the First Division and they will be aiming for an even better effort this time round.
“The guys have a bit of a break now and I think it comes at a good time, but they will be back at training next week,” said Dobela.
“I do think that having this time off could be fruitful for us, we will have more time to prepare and I think we will be very ready for the Currie Cup First Division.
“It is a crucial year for us and I think we can do even better than last year, the guys will be up for it and we want to do well.”
The Bulldogs first First Division game will be on August 26 when they will host the Valke.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos