The Nelson Mandela Stadium must be transformed into a daunting rugby fortress that makes visiting teams feel uncomfortable when they visit Gqeberha, EP Elephants coach Allister “Toetie” Coetzee says.
After securing their first home SA Cup win against the Leopards last week, EP plan to cash in during their remaining home games against the Griffons (May 3) and Boland Cavaliers (May 10).
After a nomadic existence of playing at venues scattered around the metro in 2024, an agreement was reached during the off-season for the Elephants to return to the NMB Stadium.
Last season, EP played SA Cup matches away from the NMB Stadium at the Wolfson Stadium in Kwazakhele, the Central Field in Kariega and the De Wet Stadium in Despatch.
EP executive member Mbulelo Gidane said an agreement had been reached that enabled the Elephants to have a permanent headquarters for their home SA Cup matches.
“EP want to make Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium a fortress,” Coetzee said.
“One thing I know from the past is that when teams visit Gqeberha from up north, or wherever, it is the wind here, and it is also not nice to play against a strong pack of EP forwards.
“That is exactly the mentality we have.
EP want to make it as uncomfortable as possible for visiting teams.
“The boys are putting their bodies on the line in every match this season, and I cannot ask for more.
“They are all contributing to the team, which is a very healthy situation to be in.
“It is all going in the right direction and all these games are building blocks for us.”
Coetzee said the mentality of his team had started to change since the SA Cup kicked off five weeks ago.
“The players are starting to understand the high-performance environment I am trying to create where they must be more professional,” he said.
“It does not always mean that money makes you professional.
“It is about your mindset, which is starting to change, and that makes me really happy.
“I also have the full support of the board in terms of the plan that we have.”
At the midway point in the competition, EP are in seventh spot on the 10-team log with 12 points after five outings.
Though he was not satisfied with how his team’s win over the Leopards was achieved on Saturday, Coetzee said his team stayed on track by earning five log points.
“I am happy to say that the tries still keep coming,” he said.
“What is happening with this team is they are hungry to score tries, and we did it here again, even though we were not at our best.
“It was probably our poorest performance of the season, but we still managed to score four tries.”
The Griquas and the Pumas increased their tally to 25 log points with bonus-point wins on Saturday.
A success-hungry NovaVit Griffons remained in third spot (18 points) despite their defeat against the Cheetahs, who moved up into fourth place (17 points).
Just outside semifinal contention at the moment are the Cavaliers and Falcons (15 points each), while EP occupy seventh place on 12 points.
The Eagles (seven points), Leopards (four points), and Border (two points) bring up the rear.
Weekend fixtures: Friday: EP Elephants v Griquas. Saturday: Border Bulldogs v Boland Cavaliers, Leopards v Pumas, Falcons v Griffons, Cheetahs v SWD Eagles.
Log (all teams have played five matches): Griquas 25, Pumas 25, Griffons 18, Cheetahs 17, Boland Cavaliers 15, Falcons 15, EP Elephants 12, SWD Eagles 7, Leopards 4, Border Bulldogs 2.
The Herald
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