Hillcrest Villagers defeated the Ballito Dolphins 22-7 in a fiery affair at Oaklands Equestrian Club on Saturday.

After last week’s fixture against Maritzburg Rugby Club was postponed, the team was eager to take on the Highways table-toppers in their first home game of the season. The Villagers, however, had too much for their opposition, scoring four tries to one as they left the North Coast with a hard-fought win.

A low-scoring first half saw the visitors take a 5-0 lead, with both kickers struggling from the tee. The visitors, who played much of the second half with 14 players after flanker Henkie Groenewald received a red card for foul play, increased their lead soon after the interval with a converted try.

The hosts used their extra man advantage to make it 12-7 when Keegan Goosen crashed over after a jinking run, but joy was short-lived. Hillcrest hit back immediately, extending their lead to 10. The home side struggled as the game wore on. A late score secured the bonus-point victory for the visitors.

Head of Dolphins rugby, Craig Dawson, was proud of his team.

“Hillcrest is the top side in the league; they have beaten everyone. They are a quality side; they capitalised on our silly mistakes. We came to make a statement but let ourselves down. We were not clinical, and they punished us,” he said.

Dawson enjoyed his team’s physicality but rued their mistakes.

“We are not the biggest team, but we get stuck in. However, we need to iron out our errors and fix our lineouts and poor kicking.”

The second team lost 22-20 after some late drama. With minutes remaining, the Dolphins kicked a penalty to lead by one point. However, ill-discipline saw the hosts concede a last-gasp penalty of their own that gave the visitors the win.

Second XV head coach, Muzi “Maximus” Luthuli praised his side’s performance.

“It was an unfortunate result. The opposition and supporters were shocked that we could play this well. We just couldn’t get over the line,” he said.

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