Raiders take on Durban Collegians

THE Raiders first XV took on Durban Collegians on Friday evening on the Collegians field. With the Raiders coming off with a costly win against Queensburgh the previous weekend, the team was hoping to carry the win over to this past weekend’s game, but it was not to be.

The Durban Collegians team showed why they are at the top of every log in the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union, drawing first blood and running in two tries before the Raiders had a chance to gather themselves. This did not deter the Raiders though, with club chairman, Leigh McNeill, dragging three Collegians players across the line to score the Raiders’ first try of the evening.

With hope slightly filling the Raiders’ sails, Ivan Izatt stole an intercept pass to run in a 50m dash for the second try. Collegians, however, answered with two more tries before fumbling the ball to give Calvin Coetzer an opportunity to fly down the sideline to score his try. However, this was later overturned with yet another questionable call from the referee. The Raiders team walked off the field with heavy hearts, losing 29-14.

The extra XV went to unfamiliar territory on Saturday afternoon, going up against a much-improved Ogwini Bafana side. In years gone by, the Raiders had no question on a win against Ogwini Bafana, but this year has showed a vast improvement in the Rugby Union’s efforts to develop the game, which showed in the Ogwini Bafana side.

The Raiders team was outclassed by the Ogwini side, which put 12 points on the board by half-time. With many Raiders players in the side on Saturday being pulled out of retirement and some clearly still suffering the effects of the Queensburgh match the previous weekend, the Raiders team only managed to score one try before the final whistle went.

The Raiders’ next battle will be against Rovers on Friday evening at Rovers at 7pm, and then Hillcrest at Ashley Sports Grounds at 1:30pm.