Border clubs Young Leopards, East London Police, Komga United and Swallows were all victorious in the opening round of the Eastern Cape Super 14 at the weekend.
The highlight and the biggest surprise came at the Moko Complex Fields in Debe as Komga United shocked the crowd and beat the 2025 runners-up, Fort Beaufort United, 20-14.
Coming into the game and based on the recent head-to-heads, all of the money was on FB United at home.
Komga proved that home advantage does not matter and, from the outset, suffocated FB United in parts of the first half to take a 10-5 lead at the break.
They continued where they left off in the second half and added a further 10 points to walk away with the four points.
Though they pulled a rabbit out the hat, Komga are in second place in Border Conference B.
The top spot is occupied by Police following their 31-10 bonus-point win over the Walter Sisulu Eagles at Police Park.
The four-time champions of the provincial competition looked sharp in defence and in attack against the Eagles, who were making their debut in the tournament.
Their next game against Komga will be a possible decider this weekend for who will book their first spot in the quarterfinals.
At Ducats Field, Young Leopards pulled off arguably one of the best second-half performances in the history of the Super 14.
They scored 26 unanswered points against Old Boys and eventually beat them 45-12.
The game was a repeat of the 2025 quarterfinals, in which Old Boys reigned supreme.
The first 40 minutes were tightly contested, and the sides went to the half-time break with AmaHobohobo leading 19-12.
The wheels came off for Old Boys in the second half and Leopards, after securing the five points, lead Border Conference A with Swallows behind them on four.
It is now safe to say Leopards are the contenders for the title, though it is early days.
Swallows walked away with a narrow 31-28 win over Buffs at the NU1 sports field in Mdantsane.
It was a clash of the titans between Border’s oldest clubs, and the tussle lived up to its expectations as the teams were both deadlocked 14-14 at halftime.
In the end, it was Iinyoni who snatched the win.
Defending champions Progress kicked off their campaign with a 46-22 victory, announcing that they are a force to be reckoned with again in 2026.
Other results from the Eastern Province conferences saw Hankey Villagers beat Park 29-13, Joubertina United narrowly defeat Brumbies 22-19 and Stars of Hope edge Jeffreys Bay 23-19.
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