Vryheid Rugby Club battles the Harlequins in Durban

VRYHEID Rugby Club kicked off its preparation for the 2014 season with a pre-season match against Durban Harlequins in hot and humid conditions at Growthpoint Stadium, Durban.

The battle at Kingspark got off to a frantic start with both sides feeling the pinch in the opening stages.

The Harlequins struggled to settle into the game early, with Vryheid taking advantage of the high pressure style of play. Flyhalf, Hennie van Jaarsveldt scored their first three-pointer by the five minute mark.

As the first half started drawing to a close, the Harlequins began to push hard towards Vryheid’s line and they were able to take advantage of their attacking position by scoring an opportunistic try, through a mistake on Vryheid’s part, and took the lead in the first half with 10-3.

The Harlequins made a fast start in the second half by keeping Vryheid pinned down in their own half. Showing off their speed and skill, they crossed the try-line of Vryheid for their second try of the afternoon, through another unfortunate Vryheid handling error.

It didn’t take long for the Vryheid boys to find motivation after the Harlequins’ onslaught. The Vryheid scrum started dominating, with Delarey Nel leading from the front, scrumming the Harlequins off almost every ball they got.

Vryheid polished up their attack, stealing the ball from the Harlequins’ lineouts and continually winning penalties in the their territory.

Too much pressure on Harlequins allowed Vryheid to maintain dominance, hammering at the Harlequins’ line.

Returning from a lengthy lay-off, the captain Pieter Oosthuizen reminded players and spectators why he’s been missed so much, calling attack after attack in Harlequins’ defensive zone, leading to a strong run from Wynand Pelser and allowing the youngster to score a try.

A successful kick from Hennie van Jaarsveldt reduced the Harlequins’ lead to only seven points with 10 minutes of play remaining.

Harlequins, however, were able to hold back Vryheid who were pushing hard towards the try line.

The visitors were unable to take advantage of their possession, with smart defensive play from the Harlequins, denying Vryheid any scoring opportunities.

Despite the display of Vryheid’s tenacity, the players refused to put the ball into touch and continued to push towards the try line, but were unable to score, resulting in a 20-13 victory to the home-side.

A big thank you to Inyanga Empangeni and Vrypet for making this trip to the Shark Tank possible.

Many thanks also to Spur for sponsoring a voucher for Man of the Match, which went to Andre Ellis.