A TRIP to Durban to play UKZN last Saturday proved fruitful for the Fidelity Security South Coast Warriors.
Competing in the First Division South Section, the first team won 24-9 with a bonus point try, while the seconds demolished their opponents 44-7.
Tries were scored Sakhi Tuni, Chris Mitchell (2) and James Fourie.
Josh Fourie slotted one conversion and Eben Botha another.
Men of the match were Ben Oosthuizen (forwards) and Chris Mitchell, who won the DStv Drifta.
In the first team game, the mauls were excellent from the start.
After only five minutes, the Warriors managed to drive 73 metres upfield, from their own 22m, to five metres from the try line.
This move set up a set piece for a well executed backline move to see wing Sakhi Tuni score.
The defence was outstanding once again, with no tries scored against the Warriors.
“Centre Tienie Viljoen was awesome on the day again with his big hits,” said coach Christo Henderson.
“Our set phases were good, we did not lose any scrums and only lost one lineout due to a skew throw,” said Henderson.
The team also fought hard to obtain a four-try bonus point, even with some dubious calls from the officials on the day.
It was a try of note. Captain Juan van den Bergh picked up the ball from a scrum deep in the Warriors’ 22m, broke two tackles, ran 25 metres before offloading to Mitchell, who applied jet shoes and ran 50 metres being chased by three players, to score the vital try.
Discipline was a lot better this time around. The Warriors have been a bit like the Sharks this season, winning games with players in the bin.
“Look, the players were worked up but still managed to concentrate on what they needed to do,” said the coach.
The captain kept things cool when Viljoen was binned for what, in the end, was actually a legal tackle, something similar to the Bismarck du Plessis hit on Dan Carter last year.
Subsequent video analysis revealed that the assistant match official got it wrong, but Viljoen was binned anyway.
There’s a log jam at the top of the log, with only one point separating the top three teams.
Richards Bay are top with 30, as are Harlequins, but Richards Bay have a better points difference.
Richards Bay went top after beating Harlequins 56-24 at home last Saturday.
In the second round of matches, the Warriors will play Quins at home and Richards Bay away, so there is now no place for any mistakes, and bonus points will be crucial.
The Southern KZN South trials were held at Douglas Mitchell on Monday night, with 16 of the Warriors making the team of 22. The next round of trials will be against the North section in Kokstad.
The Warriors play Hillcrest away this Friday.
