Highlanders bags first win of the league
The Boschpick Newcastle Highlanders kicked off its Puma Premier League on a positive note, beating Secunda.
After trailing 7 – 10 at half-time, the Highlanders emerged victors with a score of 32 – 24.
Scoring five tries, three Highlanders bagged full-house five league points.
After a tight first half, Highlanders took command of the game in the second half, scoring just after kick-off and taking the lead, which they held on to till the very end.
Tries by Max Mkhize (7) and Minny Siwele (13) saw Highlanders lead 24 – 10. A penalty by Siwele made it 27 -10. Secunda scored to close the gap, bring the score to 27 -17, but Highlanders was in control, pressuring Secunda with scrum penalties. Highlanders hammered the final nail in the 73rd minute, when Vedgie Sukazi (11) scored Highlander’s fifth try. Secunda scored its third try in the 80th minute, ending the game on 24 points.
Both teams fared equally well in the lineouts, but Highlanders dominated in the scrums. Team captain, Henk Booysen (4), proved his prowess as a leader and while the entire team contributed to well played-out scrums, Kwand (3), Daniel (2) and Buffalo (1) were outstanding.
Highlanders’ backline gave one of the best performances of all time, forcing Secunda to scramble in defence every time backline players got the ball, be it in an attack or counter-attack.
Siwele impressed right till the end with a ‘Man of the Match’ performance.
“The most positive thing is that all these guys are youngsters,” remarked coaching director, André Swanepoel.
“The team has improved a lot since Anton Pitout, an ex-Cheetahs player, started working on our defence. Although Secunda scored three tries, our goal in defence is to keep a clean sheet.”
“The team of 23 performed very well and must now keep the momentum going for the rest of the league,” concluded Swanepoel.
Points were as follows:
Tries: Sukazi (11) – 2, Mnelisi (9) – 1, Mkhezi (7) – 1, Siwele (13) – 1, 2 conversions and 1 penalty.
Highlanders will be back in action on May 4.
See photos below:
The news provided to you in this link has been investigated and compiled by the editorial staff of the Newcastle Advertiser, a sold newspaper distributed in the Newcastle area. Please follow us on Youtube and feel free to like, comment, and subscribe. For more local news, visit our webpage, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and request an add on our WhatsApp (082 874 5550).
