Sasol Rugby Club showed courage and character to beat White River Rugby Club 22-20 in the Phakisa Premier League final at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday evening.
It took Sasol up until the 61st minute to go into the lead.
It was a game with two evenly-matched teams. Sasol made better use of their opportunities in the second half, after they battled to handle the pressure of the final in the first 40 minutes.
White River scrum half, Junior Kotze, scored in the 11th minute when he sniped through a gap in the defensive line and beat the two last defenders. Fly half and captain Barend Smit converted. He added a penalty to put the home side ten points up.
Sasol full back Marinus van der Merwe and Smit traded penalties to give White River a 13-3 half-time lead.
White River were excellent in the first half. They played with passion and tenacity and controlled the tempo of the game. Sasol played well, but were forced into errors. They could not get out of third gear.
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In the second half the tables were turned. Sasol played more structured and disciplined rugby and fought with all they had.
Sasol narrowed the gap with an early Van der Merwe penalty.
Sasol winger, Bertie Visser, slipped through a poor White River defence to score in the 58th minute and Van der Merwe added the two points.
The score was tied, 13-13.
Three more penalties by Van der Merwe gave Sasol a 22-13 lead.
With just five minutes left, White River prop, Mervin Gilbert charged over from a five-metre tap penalty. Smit converted. The score was 22-20 in Sasol’s favour.
A 78th minute goalable penalty was booted into touch by Sasol. They gained, lost and then regained possession to play out the last four minutes.
White River were poor in the second half. They were in control of the game and seemed to implode on themselves. Their discipline let them down and the trusty right boot of Van der Merwe, who kicked 17 points, was on target.
Sasol were deserved champions. They came out fighting with their backs to the wall in the second half. They kept it simple and did the basics very well, feeding off White River’s errors.
White River had a exceptional season, topping the log. They lost the most important game of the season to a team which over the 80 minutes were better than them. The boys in the red and white hoops will be back next season.
The second and third team’s finals were also close affairs.
White River II claimed the provincial second teams’ championship with a 30-28 win over Middelburg II.
Witbank III defeated White River III 25(15)-22(5) in a match that went into extra time after the teams were tied at 22-22 after 80 minutes.
