Progress stormed into the semifinals of the Eastern Cape Super 14 rugby tournament when they overpowered Park 32-12 at the Central Field in Kariega on Saturday.
Thanks to their victory, Progress have set up a mouth-watering semifinal which is expected to be against Buffalo City Metro side Old Selbornians in Kariega on Saturday.
In the other semifinal, Swallows are set to face PE Harlequins in Mdantsane.
Super 14 officials said on Sunday these were the unconfirmed semifinal clashes and venues and would be confirmed later in the week.
Progress have been unstoppable this season and the win over Park stretched their unbeaten record to six matches.
The defeat ended a plucky effort by Park to reach the playoffs after they had led Group A in the early rounds.
However, consecutive losses against Harlequins and Progress left the Gqeberha side out of the playoff berths.
Backed by their huge support base in Kariega, Progress will be a tough nut for visitors Old Selbornians to crack.
But with a place in the final at stake, it will be a do-or-die encounter between two teams who have their focus firmly fixed on the big prize.
Progress were out of the blocks at a fast pace on Saturday and by halftime had run up an impressive 22-0 lead over Park.
In another key Group A game, Harlequins clinched their place in the semifinals with a 33-15 win over Young Leopards at Ducats.
After a loss to Progress in round 5, Harlequins were back to their winning ways and an epic semifinal against Swallows is on the cards this weekend.
In their final Group B game, Old Selbornians lost their proud unbeaten record when they were beaten 36-27 by Swallows in Mdantsane.
As had been predicted, this was a hard-fought clash which kept the big crowd entertained throughout as both teams attempted to end the group stage with a morale-boosting win.
At the break, Swallows held a narrow 22-17 advantage over their arch-rivals.
African Bombers’ miserable season continued when they were beaten 27-14 by East London Police in Zwide.
Police, who led 13-6 at halftime, had too much firepower for Bombers, who will have to go back to the drawing board.
In a group A battle of the basement dwellers, Ncerha Leopards beat Breakers 26-22 in Mlungisi.
In another tussle between sides out of the running for playoff berths, Kruisfontein downed Gardens 23-18 at the Sport Complex.
The hotly contested Super 14 is divided into two streams consisting of seven teams each, with two teams from each pool advancing to the semifinals before the remaining two contest for the R40,000 first prize on March 19.
Another incentive for players is that, apart from the top prize, there are cash incentives for all the clubs even if they fail to make the playoffs.
Results:
Group A: Progress 32 Park 12, Young Leopards 15 Harlequins 33, Breakers 22 Ncerha Leopards 26. Black Eagles bye.
Group B: Swallows 36 Old Selbornians 27, African Bombers 14 East London Police 27, Kruisfonten 23 Gardens 18. Trying Stars bye.
Saturday’s unconfirmed semifinals (both 3.30pm kickoffs): Progress v Old Selbornians (Central Field), Swallows v PE Harlequins (NU1 Mdantsane).
HeraldLIVE
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