College Rovers kept their seasons unbeaten record in tact when they beat a tenacious and never say die understrength eThekwini Refractories Amanzimtoti outfit 40-5 in their penultimate Fidelity ADT Premier Division game on their home grounds at Kings Park 3 last Friday evening.
Although leading relatively comfortably 21-5 at halftime Rovers were given a hard game losing their dynamo hooker Cullum Collopy with a bad shoulder injury before the break. The South Coast Terriers can certainly hold their heads up high as they battled gamely against all odds with the solid Rovers defence that was almost impenetrable. If anything the Toti pack more than held their own in the end but the 2018 Premier Division champions were blessed with far stronger depth coming off the bench on the night
Rovers ended up scoring six tries to one with wing Mark Richards, scrumhalf Blake Mingay, flank Ray Williams, centre Alcino Isaacs, replacement hooker Hendrik Prinsloo and fullback Gav Scott all crossing the chalk, while Scott added three conversions and Andy Huysaman coming off the bench another two. Amanzimtoti replied with a try by prop Renier Mostert.
In another game Bidvest Insurance Crusaders had a good away win beating Richards Bay 29-22 after leading 24-10 at the break, which meant that the side from The Bay won the second half 12-5. Never the less full credit to the side from Durban North as its never easy playing away in The Bay especially in the evening.
In the remaining match SA Home Loans Durban Collegians beat FNB UKZN Maritzburg 59-17 at Jonsson Kings Park last Saturday after leading 38-0 at halftime. The game played as the opening curtain raiser to the Super Rugby match between the Sharks and the visiting Emirates Lions saw Collegians taking their foot off the peddle but still cruising to a comfortable victory.
The Premier Division will have a one week recess as the sporting world turns their attention to the Vodacom July Handicap at Greyville this Saturday and return for the last round on Friday 13 July and so ending the league before turning their attention on the Murray Cup knockout competition.
In the First Division games South Coast Warriors had the better of Jaguars in Sydenham beating the home side 55-0, while Maritzburg Collegians scraped home 22-18 against Durban Mets and Mancosa Zululand Rhinos also narrowly edged home to win their game 20-15 against their visitors Ballito Dolphins. In the remaining game Westville thumped UKZN Durban 64-12.
For the First Division there will be no rest this weekend wirh Zululand entertaining Durban Mets at Mick Kelly Park, Maritzburg Collegians host Hillcrest at Woodburn in the capital, Ballito Dolphins are at home to Westville and South Coast Warriors travel up the coast to face UKZN Durban.
In the lower leagues College Rovers secured the Premier Division Reserve League with a game in hand to retain the Wylie Cup, which dates back to 1906, while one of the youngest clubs in KZN Reservoir Hills Rhinos made a bit of history winning the Fifth Division C.F. Glew Trophy for the first time. Up in the Berg there were celebrations aplenty in Winterton after the local Drakensberg Rugby Club won the Maritzburg Rugby Sub-Union Third Division claiming the 87 year old Crowe Cup
The post Wednesday Club Rugby Column appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
This weekend will take another huge effort from the Cell C Sharks when they travel to Cape Town to take on a DHL Stormers team that hasn’t enjoyed their best season this year.
As the log currently stands, the Stormers play their final match this weekend and should they lose, face what would be for them, the disappointing prospect of finishing bottom of the South African Conference.
One player who is looking forward to the battle with a Stormers side that has nothng to lose and who will throw everything at the Cell C Sharks is a new crowd favourite, Akker van der Merwe, playing in his first season at JONSSON KINGS PARK.
Although he left the field early, having enjoyed a barnstorming game against the Lions, he did suffer a shoulder injury which was a concern at the time. But, as he explained in the lead-up to this match, one he wouldn’t want to miss after his Vodacom Man of the Match performance against his old team last week, “When I woke up on Sunday the pain was gone.”
Now enjoying not only game time, but quality play with the Cell C Sharks that he didn’t get with the Lions before making the move down to Durban, he said with a laugh: “I don’t know who has been choosing the man of the match awards [he’s received a number], but I’m not complaining.”
Beating the Lions, a team that until last year he was representing was not quite a personal triumph of getting one over his former team, but the victory was clearly one to savour.
“Especially since the last time the Cell C Sharks beat the Lions was back in 2015, all in all it was a special game; I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Having accomplished the first of three must-win pool matches against the Lions, the stage is now set for Saturday’s showdown with the Stormers at Newlands. But, as van der Merwe explains, the Cell C Sharks’ ambitions go beyond just the pool matches.
“Every game is a must win for us,” he admitted. “When we returned from the break, we agreed that from then on, we need to win six out of six – the three pool matches of which we’ve won one, and the three knock-out games – so our motivation is the 4th of August.”
But right now, the focus is on the Stormers, a team that is going to be very dangerous this weekend.
“They have nothing to lose, so obviously they’ll throw the ball around, while we can expect the usual physicality from the Stormers’ pack. They have big forwards so the set-piece battle it going to be vital for us.”
As far as the scrums go, he felt that the little issues that hampered the Cell C Sharks in the early parts of our game against the Lions are a thing of the past.
“We might have got a bit ahead of ourselves, but we have to stick to our plan and execute it. We don’t have concerns about our scrum. Yes, the Stormers have a very good pack, but we’ll look to stick to what we know and do our best.”
On a personal level, he admits that his approach to playing rugby is not all about the victory, but what one gets out of the sport.
“There are a lot of things that go through my mind when I run onto the field to play a match, but at the end of the day it’s all about enjoying it. That’s why we play rugby: it’s our passion, so it’s important to enjoy every minute. You never know when you might be playing your last game.”
The post Manning Up appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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