Villagers’ suffer first season loss
After a stream of steady wins since the beginning of the season, the Land Rover Durban - Hillcrest Villagers' Rugby Club were defeated by the South Coast Warriors.
THE Land Rover Durban – Hillcrest Villagers’ Rugby Club’s 1st and 2nd XV travelled to Uvongo to take on the South Coast Warriors in the KZNRU first division south league.
Villagers 2nd XV contested well in all aspects of their game and at one stage were on course to beat their rivals. Well into the second half, and against the run of play, the Warriors surged ahead and narrowly won 12 – 7. Man of the match went to Roben Anderson (forwards) and Caleb Rowland (backs).
In the 1stXV match, the two arch rivals threw all they had at one another. At half time, the sides were locked down tightly at 7 – 7. The physicality took a toll on the Villagers’ three quarters, with the unfortunate loss of three key defensive players.
The game had its fair share of foul play and at one stage the Warriors had three yellow cards in the sin-bin at the same time. With a number of players injured, and their subs playing out of position, the Villagers’ defence was hard-pressed, and eventually lost the encounter 26 – 7. Man of the match went to Jono Deighton (forwards) and Henkie Groenewald (backs).
Both bitterly disappointed Villagers Coaches, Nic Tyler and Jared Chiocchetti, gave credit to their sides for their sheer effort under pressure.
The Hillcrest Villagers’ 3rd XV travelled to Durban North on Saturday afternoon to play the Northwood Crusaders 3rd XV. After an even first 30 minutes, the Crusaders finally broke the Villagers’ defence and scored two tries and lead 14 – 0 at half-time. The Villagers’ refused to give up and eventually front row stalwart, Zane Janse Van Rensberg scored a try with a conversion from Clifford Bridge. The final score of 28 – 7 went to the Crusaders. Man of the Match went to Brian Lewis (forwards) and Kyle Britz (backs).
The Villagers 3rd XV will play DUT away, at KP1 on Friday, 29 June from 7pm. The Villagers’ 1sts and 2nd XV have earned a well-deserved break with a bye this weekend. Their next encounter is on Saturday, 7 July at Kearsney College against PMB Collegians.
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