Encouraged by several gutsy displays in the SA Cup, EP are determined to hit the ground running when they face the SWD Eagles in their opening Currie Cup First Division rugby match in Gqeberha on June 14.
After coming heartbreakingly close to lifting the First Division trophy in 2024, EP are expected to be among the front-runners for honours under new coach Allister “Toetie” Coetzee.
Though the First Division tournament does not offer a route to promotion to the top-tier Currie Cup Premier Division, EP will be determined to send out a message that they are a team on the rise.
SA Rugby decided that the top four teams in the SA Cup (Pumas, Griquas, Cheetahs and Boland Cavaliers) would compete in the Premier Division.
New champions in the First Division will be crowned after the 2023 and 2024 winners, Boland, qualified for the Premier Division.
The Bolanders successfully defended their Carling Currie Cup First Division title in 2024 when they beat EP in a tense final in Wellington.
The 2022 champions, the Griffons, will rejoin the First Division fray in 2025 after a few years in the Premier Division.
Other recent First Division champions are the Leopards (2021), Jaguares from Argentina (2019), Eagles (2018) and the Griffons (2016 and 2017).
Coetzee said his players were given a break last week after the SA Cup and resumed training on Monday.
“I think EP will be able to retain the core of the team for the Currie Cup,” Coetzee said.
“We are in a better shape compared to where we started the SA Cup season, and we have to build on that in the First Division.
'Though we will keep the core of this squad, we need to add in certain positions where we are a bit thin.
“I have my eyes on some new players and the EP board have already listened to my plan.
“The board will help me put that plan in place.
“I know people are looking for sixes (cricketing parlance), but we are building an innings.
“That is what building a winning team is about.
“You have to take your twos and singles first and make sure you get into a certain position that you can sustain once you are up there.”
Coetzee said he was confident EP would acquit themselves well in the First Division.
“In the SA Cup we were close to beating the Cheetahs and we beat the Griffons,” he said.
“EP were underprepared for our opening game against the Falcons in Kempton Park, which we lost because we were still putting our squad together.
“If we had this squad for the opener against the Falcons, it would have been a different game.
“I would like people to understand that to build a winning team takes a bit of time and you need patience.”
Though it has not been decided where EP will play their home Currie matches, Coetzee would like the team to continue playing at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
“That was the plan and I hope it stays like that,” he said.
Boland clinched their berth in the Premier Division when they beat the Elephants 36-22 in the final round of the SA Cup at the NMU Madibaz Stadium.
The Cavaliers, who led 21-3 at halftime, did not have things all their way after EP fought back to trail 29-22 after 72 minutes.
A late try by replacement HP van Schoor in the 75th minute clinched the game for Boland and a prized berth in the top tier of SA rugby.
EP's First Division fixtures:
June 14: v SWD Eagles (Gqeberha), June 21: v Griffons (Welkom), June 28: v Leopards (Potchefstroom), July 5: v Border Bulldogs (Gqeberha), July 12: v Falcons (Gqeberha)
The Herald
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