Shark Attack -The Raggies are back!!

Knysna August 11. Team Cream OTC’s dream like ascendancy to the top of the leader board was slightly tarnished by a surprise defeat to a resurgent Raggies outfit who launched their own savage attack on the tournament rankings. Cream OTC went into the penultimate round of the Kickbutt Super Six undefeated in ten straight games and just two points adrift of ailing log leaders, Team Oxygen Orange, but their seventh round campaign got off to a wobbly start as they were ambushed by the ruthless Raggie pair of das Fontes and Ferreira in the very  first game.  A stunned Taylor and Edwards did however manage to regain their now notorious composure enabling them contain all the other challengers in the next four games and thereby bank a still sizable 18 points on the night. That was more than enough to see them leapfrogging past Orange to the number one spot on the log. The 8 point cushion Cream OTC now hold over the other contenders has all but booked them a place in the Kickbutt Cup Final.

Co-leading the contenders, and lurking ominously in the depths, are the  Raggies, who, although they  have appeared toothless in in recent rounds, finally look to be attaining some sort of man eating notoriety as they gashed off a 7^th round Pentafest  (the wining of all five games of a round). Their night’s s hall of 18 points was eventually equalled by Cream OTC but it was enough to tie them with former log leaders Oxygen Orange at exactly 100 points for 2^nd place on the overall table. That  position them perfectly within a striking distance of a berth in the final. 18 tournaments points is the lowest recorded score for a Pentafest but that is perhaps indicative of the gritty nature of their night’s conquests. The street fighting Raggies are however the only team that has record against the high flying Cream OTC having won 4 of the 7 Super Six games between the two teams. A final between these two dynamic and aggressive teams would certainly be worth paying good money to watch.

After leading the log for six straight weeks team Oxygen Orange sunk to new depths recording just two wins out of their  five games on the night and have plummeted to 8 points behind the new leaders. To add insult to injury, Gavin Hobson picked up the first orange card of the tournament, and indeed in the sports history, for displaying disrespect to the match officials and as a result his team was docked two game points. Ironically that punishment seemed to spur the Sedgefield team on to their best passage of play on the night.  For a short while after the incident a seething Hobson and Oliver played with a hunger we haven’t seen in them since the tournaments opening rounds. They will need to produce a lot more of that if they still harbour any ambitions of reaching the final.

Also with the Cup Final still in their sights, all be it telescopically, are the Black Mambas who are just 4 points further adrift of the tied 2^nd placed teams. On 96 points the Mambas will need a bonus point win just to draw level with the Raggies and Oxygen on the score board, let along overtake them. Only a full on Pentafest in the last round will guarantee them that elusive spot in the Kickbutt Cup although mathematically they do stand a slim chance of making it without winning all five of their remaining games. Given their current form, the hard striking serpents are the one team that could pull off this longshot and it would be brave to write them off just yet.

Completely written off but still with a faint pulse, the Red Eagle’s finally peeled themselves off the bottom of the table at the expense of the mixed doubles Xenon combination who again failed to earn even a single tournament point on the night. Neither of these two teams has managed to record a win against the top four ranked teams throughout the competition and are definitely not in contention for a place in the Kickbutt Cup. The Mambas will be hoping that Xenon or the Eagles can add spice to the final round by upsetting any of the other top four teams in the 8th round and although that seems highly unlikely, it would be a fantastic way to close off the competition for the tournaments “whipping boys’.” The Eagles, desperate to shake off that tag, will still be pondering how they botched a 10 point lead over Oxygen Orange in the last nights round, as are we all. With just two log points separating the Eagles and Xenon it is likely that the Wednesday’s game between these two will determine which of them skulks away with the Super Six wooden spoon.