Highlanders launches league title defence
Teams 1A and 1B faced off in the opening round of the sub-union League.
Boschpick Newcastle Highlanders kicked its season off on a good note last week Thursday.
In rainy weather, Highlanders 1A and 1B played each other, with the first 20 minutes a tight affair.
Although 1B were hungry and motivated to defeat their fellow members, 1A kept its cool and took control of the game once the first try was scored just after the first quarter ended.
Leading 21-3 at half time, 1A cranked up the pace and scored seven total tries on its way to a 57-3 victory.
On Saturday, Highlanders made the trip down to Durban to face Jaguars in the annual friendly match, although traffic jams forced some of the team to miss the noon kick-off.
Thus, Highlanders played 15 minutes of the match with only 13 men on the park.
Despite this major setback, the local side mustered up a 14-7 lead just before the start of the second quarter, bolstering that margin to 21-7 at the half-time whistle.
Highlanders scored its fourth try in the second half to run out winners by 28 points to14.
Among the backline players, Almero Roux (scrumhalf) and Gift Mabaso (inside centre) played well, as did Shakes Mbatha (replacement lock) and captain Errit Visser (eighth man).
Robert Everson at lock was a tower of strength in the Highlanders’s lineout.
This Saturday, Highlanders 1A faces Ladysmith in an away game, 1B plays Sentraal at home, 2A takes on the Mighty Buffaloes at home and 2B enjoys a bye round.
