Nelspruit Rugby Club produced a polished performance to defeat Witbank Rugby Club in a Mpumalanga Super League match at Kudu Park on Saturday, April 29. For much of the game, Nelspruit gelled as a unit and Witbank had no answer for their slick attacking play.

The home team went 12-0 up within 16 minutes with two tries from Elmar Lintnaar, with Gerry Gendall converting the first.

Nkateko Phakula crossed over for a try a few minutes later and Gendall slotted the conversion for a 19-0 lead.

Witbank opened their scoring in the 31st minute when Thami Zulu scored a try that was not converted.

Nelspruit led 19-5 at half-time.

Early in the second half, Witbank’s Pieter Clarence was yellow-carded for playing the man without the ball.

Louis Fourie kicked a penalty goal for the visitors in the 46th minute to take the score to 19-8.

Shumza Monareng barged over for Nelspruit on 65 minutes and then scored from a maul four minutes later. Gendall succeeded with one of the conversions for a 31-8 lead.

Gendall scored the last try for Nelspruit. He tapped a penalty and passed to Ricardo Correira who crossed the advantage line. The ball was recycled and the fly half received the off-load to score. He missed the conversion.

It was a clinical performance from the home team. Their set pieces were solid and they were sublime at the breakdown.

Nelspruit showed an extreme hunger for victory, and that vital factor – playing for each other – was evident on the field. They were brilliant on the counter-attack.

Witbank put up a spirited performance, but were outclassed in all aspects of the game.

The teams will enjoy a long-weekend break with the season one match away from the halfway mark.

Other Super League results:
• White River 35-28 Barberton
• Sasol 34-5 Highlanders.
Next fixtures: Saturday, May 9 (home team first):
• Nelspruit v White River
• Barberton v Sasol (Secunda)
• Highlanders (Newcastle) v Witbank.