EP’s rampant Velleman hunting for more tries against Griffons

Rampant Elephants loose forward CJ Velleman will be looking to add to his impressive tally of seven tries in three games when he faces the Griffons in a crunch Carling Currie Cup First Division clash at the Madibaz B field in Gqeberha on Saturday.

After an injury ruled him out of much of EP’s SA Cup campaign, the dynamic No 6 has been a key figure in the push by the Elephants to reach the First Division playoffs.

After scoring a try in EP’s opening game against the Valke, Velleman recorded hat-tricks in his team’s next two outings against the Border Bulldogs and Leopards.

Thanks to consecutive wins, EP are in third place on the six-team log and well positioned to clinch a playoff berth by ending among the top four teams.

On Thursday, EP’s round four match against defending champions the Griffons was moved from Bergsig Special School to the Madibaz B field at the NMU campus.

“Bergsig was not available because the Academy Week starts there on Monday,” EP coach Allister Coetzee said.

“The Madibaz A field has been in use since Monday because of the USSA Week, so we will play on the B Field.

“We know the B field because we played on it earlier this season against the SWD Eagles.

“It will be a set-piece battle against the Griffons on Saturday.

“We have a bit of a challenge at flyhalf because Garth April is out for the rest of the Currie Cup season with a fractured wrist.

“Thankfully Maxwell Klaasen [EP’s other No 10] has recovered from flu.”

EP coach Allister Coetzee. Picture: (GETTY IMAGES)

In round three, the SWD Eagles surged to the top of the standings with an emphatic 54-26 away win over the Griffons in Welkom last week, while the Valke put down a marker against the struggling Border Bulldogs after a 96-19 victory in Kempton Park.

The Valke came close to carding a century as they crushed the Border Bulldogs to move into second place on the standings, while EP fought back in the second half of their clash in Kariega to beat the Leopards 40-32.

Coetzee said the Elephants had held their nerve at the end to pull off a vital win over the Leopards after a hard-fought clash at Bergsig Special School.

Though his team pocketed five points against the Leopards, Coetzee was not happy with EP’s overall performance.

“We got off to a fast start but did not take advantage of it,” he said.

“We dominated set pieces and territory, but butchered lots of opportunities and we trailed 15-12 at the break.

“I was forced to make a few changes at halftime to get a better response from the team.

“The second half was a dog fight, and the Leopards had newfound confidence.

“Credit to a Leopards team that refused to go away, but we kept our nerve to come back and win it.”

In Welkom last week, the Eagles started like a house on fire against the Griffons, scoring four tries in the first 17 minutes — two by Ulrich Stander — to take a 28-7 lead despite conceding a penalty try and losing a player to the sin bin.

The hosts added two tries while SWD responded with their fifth five-pointer late in the first half to take a commanding 35-19 lead at the break.

The Griffons closed the gap with their fourth try early in the second half, but after Stander completed his hat-trick in the 49th minute, it was basically game over for the defending champions.

The Eagles added two late tries, by Xavier Swartbooi and Rune Lucas, to seal an emphatic win away from home.

Saturday’s other fixtures: SWD Eagles v Border Bulldogs, Leopards v Valke.

Log (all teams have played three matches): SWD Eagles 15, Valke 11, EP Elephants 11, Griffons 11, Leopards 5, Border Bulldogs 0.