White River Rugby Club (WRRC) and Centurion Rugby Club dished up 80 minutes of scintillating play in the first round of the 2025 Pick n Pay Gold Cup on Saturday, September 27.

The match, played at WRRC, went down to the wire with the visitors winning 20-18.

Besides the scrums, which Centurion dominated, the teams were evenly matched for 80 minutes.

It was a high-tempo, high-quality club rugby match, enjoyed by a packed crowd at the White River field.

Centurion had the better of the initial stages of play and the home team seemed somewhat nervous.

But the men in the red and white hoops soon got into their stride and were rewarded with a try in the 14th minute. Zain Christians broke the visitors’ defence and off-loaded to Divan Janse van Rensburg who went over. Christians slotted the conversion.

Centurion hit back on 31 minutes. The ball went down the backline and winger, Buffy Nzike, was in for the try. Cornel Korff added the two points. The half-time score was 7-7.

Centurion had the better of territory and possession in the first half thanks to their scrum dominance. But White River made good use of the possession they had and defended well.

The visitors took the lead for the first time three minutes after the restart thanks to a Korff penalty goal.

Four minutes later they extended their lead to 10 points. Centurion wing, Siya Tyilu made the best of some poor White River tackling and claimed a try. Korff’s conversion sailed over the cross bar.

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Christians took the deficit down to seven points through a penalty goal, with 30 minutes of play remaining

A penalty goal from Korff in the 53rd minute and one from Christians shortly after gave Centurion a 20-13 lead with ten minutes to the full-time whistle.

The home team attacked with venom and opted to kick numerous penalties into touch, knowing that three points were not enough – they needed seven to possibly force the game into extra time.

A maul was formed from a resulting line-out and hooker, Stephan Hartman, went over for the try close to the right touchline.

Christians lined up the vital conversion. The kick hit the left upright and Centurion held a two-point lead.
Despite a spirited attempt to score the match-winning points with time running out, it was not to be for White River.

Centurion showed massive mental strength and put their bodies on the line to hold on to the narrow lead.

The final score was 20-18 to the away team.

It was a match of small margins, but the Centurion boys were just those two points better. Both teams played with immense pride. It was club rugby at its best.

• Pretoria Harlequins hosted Nelspruit Rugby Club in the first round of the Gold Cup. The home team won 64-31.