{"id":160904,"date":"2017-08-30T08:40:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T06:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/160904\/bears-conquer-nines-tournament\/"},"modified":"2017-08-30T14:48:02","modified_gmt":"2017-08-30T12:48:02","slug":"bears-conquer-nines-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/sports-news\/2017\/08\/30\/bears-conquer-nines-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears conquer nine\u2019s tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby was the order of the day at the Rhino\u2019s Nine\u2019s Tournament held at the Elspark Sports Grounds on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Elsburg\u2019s Bears Rugby League Club was among the six teams competing for the trophy through 15 games.<\/p>

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The other teams vying for the top spot were Spartans, Mustangs, Tuks Rugby League, Bulldogs and Roosters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first round of the four-round tournament that will be played monthly,\u201d said club chairperson, Andries van der Merwe.<\/p>

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Log points will be carried over to the next three rounds.<\/p>\n

Bears started on a good note, winning the first of the 20-minute matches 18-16 against the Mustangs.<\/p>\n

Roosters won four of their five matches and Tuks won half of their matches.<\/p>\n

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The competition swelled as the matches continued and players reacquainted themselves with the rules and tricks of playing rugby league.<\/p>\n

The local team went through their matches unbeaten which placed them on top of the log with 10 points.<\/p>\n

Hot on the heels of Bears are Roosters with eight points, followed by Tuks with six points.<\/p>\n

The bottom half of the log consists of the Spartans, Mustangs and the Bulldogs with four, one and one points, respectively.<\/p>\n

Van der Merwe said the tournament ran smoothly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo serious injuries were reported at the end of the tournament but it is safe to say that all teams went home tired, sore and dirty,\u201d said van der Merwe.<\/p>\n

\u201cAction, players with heart and some crazy rugby league stunts are what we can expect going forward in the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van der Merwe also said the tournament serves as a seeding event for the South African Rugby League (SARL) Nine\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cNational rugby league coaches and scouts also attend this tournament as they are hoping to find players for the SARL Nine\u2019s team that will play at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia,\u201d said van der Merwe.<\/p>\n

The Bears\u2019 season will start on Saturday when they face Tuks in an away match in Pretoria.<\/p>\n

Van der Merwe said the 2017 season looks strong with old players returning and new players joining the team.<\/p>\n