Jaguars show their superior skill
They fought until the final whistle but in their attempts to score tries left gaps open in the midfield which were expertly exposed by the opposition.
As the season closed last week The Great Railroad Ballito Dolphins found themselves lying in fifth position on the log one point behind PMB Collegians. A disappointing end to the season as making the knockout rounds of the oldest rugby tournament in the world, The SAB sponsored Murray Cup, was one of the pre-season goals.
Then, at the 11th hour, PMB withdrew their team which gave the Dolphins their opportunity, and not daunted by the prospect of playing a premier league team, the management and players decided to jump at the opportunity so they could gauge what they needed to do next season in order to compete with the best in the leagues.
The preparation was far from ideal as the home ground, Sugar Rush Park, had been used for the Warriors Race and hired out for a biking event for the next weekend. So a hastily arranged practice was held on the Friday (thanks to the kindness of Umhlali Prep School), and although they had been offered home advantage the game had to be played at Crusaders Club in Durban.
The first half saw a tightly contested affair with the Dolphins going into the break 17/7 down, after having missed two clear cut opportunities to reduce the deficit before half time.
The second half though showed how the lack of training during the week was sorely missed, and coupled with the composure shown by the more experienced Jaguars outfit that has made them a hard team to beat in the Premier league this season, it proved one step too many for The Dolphins.
That said, they fought until the final whistle but in their attempts to score tries left gaps open in the midfield which were expertly exposed by the opposition.
The Dolphins eventually went down 55/7 but walked away with a good lesson learnt and new standards to be achieved for next season.
The draw for the Murray Cup plate event will take place this week and The Dolphins will be looking to redeem themselves in the competition as they will now face a team from their own 1st Division.
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