At the end of the day there could only be one winner, and that was Bellville RFC.
Their fans came out in their numbers to witness their side become champions, beating northern neighbours Kuils River RFC 27-19 in the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) 7s series final.
The boys in green made history, along with Maties, to appear in two consecutive 7s divisional finals after they beat Kraaifontein side Hands&Heart 17-12 in the shield final, in Kuils River, last year.
Bellville qualified for the last-round of 32 after picking up 13 wins, three defeats and playing to a draw in the five-week round-robin stages. This saw them finish in fourth place with 66 points in pool A, five points behind False Bay who finished the round-robin stages in first place. However, the Bay were knocked out by UWC in the quarter-finals with a 19-17 defeat. UWC then bowed out with a 14-12 defeat to Kuils River.
This year’s competition saw 36 teams competing. Twenty-five of them are Super League sides and the rest are clubs that play in the City, Southern and Northern leagues.
Clubs were divided in two groups of 18 with the bottom two of pool A and B being eliminated after the pool stages were finished, last weekend.
Saturday’s final could have gone either way with Bellville leading 15-14 at the break. The second half was all about Bellville scoring two tries while Kuils River could only score one try through Griffith Temba.
Bellville’s road to the final was an easy one, as they beat neighbours Northerns and Kraaifontein 28-0 and 19-7 in the last-round of 32 and 16, respectively.
They then went on to beat Macassar 24-10 in the quarter-finals and surprise semi-finalists Kylemore 24-7 to set up a date in the final with Kuils River.
Coach Maxwell Stoffels said winning the cup was a dream come true.
“The challenge for us was to play to the best of our ability coming into the competition. We certainly lived up to that expectation which saw us become champions,” he said.
Bellville had the biggest support base throughout the competition, who were certainly not disappointed. Stoffels said credit should go to their supporters for keeping them motivated and on their feet.
“The fans were the rock behind us. There are no words to describe them. They are so passionate about the game and the players. We wanted to win it for the people of Bellville South,” he said.
The Bellville South side were one of the most consistent teams throughout the round-robin stages and beat teams such as False Bay and Brackenfell.
Stoffels said the pool stages were a great learning experience and his players gave it their all from game one.
“We had to build a culture of belief and trust. We also had to get the dynamics right and to take it one game at a time,” said Stoffels, who credits fellow coach and team manager Henry Moerie and Elroy Christians for effort they have put in with the team throughout the competition.
“I could have not done it without them. Credit should also go to the players for the dedication they showed at practise and on the field,” he said.
Meanwhile, Goodwood were knocked out in the shield semi-finals going down 22-19 against Young Stars.
In other action, Maties were crowned plate champions, beating Helderberg 24-14. Debutants Collegians hammered
Bo-Kaap side Young Stars 36-5 to be crowed shield champions. Elsies River were crowned bowl champions, beating Eerste Rivier 29-10.
Residents say no to crèche