GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - After a tough introduction to life in the SWD Super League A, Sedgefield Eagle Stars finally notched up their first win in the competition last weekend by emerging victorious against Blanco.
In their first four fixtures in the 2022 season, they had to take on three of the top five clubs in the league, namely Progress, Evergreens and Crusaders.
The Sedgefield outfit struggled to find their feet against these sides, with all three of their teams losing all of their first four matches.
However, following a bit of a reset during the Easter break, they were able to regroup ahead of their best chance yet to rack up their first win of the season.
They were lined up to face Blanco at Grassy Park in Smutsville, Eagle Stars' home turf.
Blanco have also struggled so far, themselves losing their first four matches, so both clubs were hoping to rack up their first wins of the season.
The third teams kicked off first on Saturday 23 April. Blanco drew first blood for the day, winning 21-10.
Their joy was short-lived though, as Eagle Stars' second team bounced back with a hard-fought 23-14 victory.
However, the first team match was all that mattered, and it was a battle right until the end.
Eagle Stars carried a slim 11-10 lead into half-time, and the second half did little to separate the two sides.
Going into the final 10 minutes Blanco were leading 25-19, but Eagle Stars managed to send the home fans into delirium with a try and a conversion to secure a nail-biting 26-25 victory.
The win sees Eagle Stars rise one step on the log table to be replaced by Blanco at the bottom of the log.
Elsewhere in the Super League A, Plett-based Jaguars faced Bridgton in Oudtshoorn.
Once more the day started with the thirds and the Oudtshoorn side registered a resounding 45-0 victory.
Their second team earned a big 67-13 win as well.
The first team match was the most promising for Jaguars, but the home side still proved too strong and Bridgton won 43-20.
Bitou Rugby Club was also in action last weekend, albeit in the SWD First Division West.
They took on Hungry Lions in Plettenberg Bay on Saturday and had a very successful day out.
Unlike the Super League A, clubs in this division are only required to field two teams.
Therefore the match day kicked off with the second teams locking horns.
The home side recorded a 50-7 win to get the ball rolling.
The first team match was a tighter affair but Bitou still proved too strong, running out 17-0 victors by the time the final whistle blew.
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