Pinetown Raiders end season on a high note
Pinetown Raiders went up against highway rivals Hillcrest Villagers in a great game of rugby
KEEP Calm and Join Pinetown Raiders were the words which echoed across the highway area last Wednesday night, when Pinetown Raiders Extra XV beat Hillcrest Villagers in a 16-10 battle at Hillcrest’s home grounds.
As was promised, the game was hard fought, as both teams entered the field needing the points to cement a position higher up on the log standings. The first half saw Hillcrest deep in their half of the field through the boot of Danie Flemming, who also stood tall in his stride slotting two penalties early in the game, the second from the 40-metre line.
Not to be outdone, Hillcrest applied pressure through counter attacks which kept the team consistently in the visitors’ half. The hard work paid off with a deserved penalty which was easily converted to give the home team a 6-3 lead. Before the end of the second half, Pinetown Raiders made one more valiant attempt at an attack from a well-fielded kick. Hugo Du Preez stepped his way into space before offloading to Phillip Pieterse who beat a one-on-one tackle to dart the ball down into the corner and bring the lead up to 10 points at the half time break.
The second half of the game seemed to bring on the heavy legs as only one more try was scored. This was through an eight man pick-up from Hillcrest which brought the game a little closer to level pegging. Pinetown Raiders held onto its narrow lead with 13-10. The rest of the second half saw the ball shifting possession between the visitors and the hosts, but in the end the final say was by Pinetown Raiders when a kick by Danie Flemming put the final score at 16-10 to Pinetown Raiders.
“The game was played in great spirit as all local derby’s should be. We as a club are proud of our men for the season. Pinetown Raiders Extra XV began the season losing their first two games, but through great team commitment in the season gained a grip on the season and, with constant wins from there, we ended the season on a high,” said Phillip Pieterse, chairman of the Pinetown Raiders Rugby Club.
