THE way the Fidelity Security South Coast Warriors started against Hillcrest at Douglas Mitchell last Saturday it looked like a 70 point trouncing might be on the cards.
The spectators barely had a chance to sip on their beers, let alone finish one, and the Warriors were over for their first try.
Coach Christo Henderson was pretty excited about the opening movement.
He was pleased with the end result, which was 49-19.
You had to hand it to Hillcrest. They certainly played with a lot of courage and withstood a battering as the Warriors played with serious intensity and menace.
“A win is a win even if it’s by one point or 49. We are very fortunate to have three bonus point wins out of three. It’s a great effort from all the players and everyone involved,” said Henderson.
While the win was convincing, Henderson still felt that the team needed to relook kick-off receiving. “I wasn’t happy with it on the day, but overall, we focused on our strong points and not the opposition,” he said.
So, is the league weaker or are the Warriors just getting better, especially at home?
“That’s a tricky question to answer as I don’t want to sound too confident. The first division is always tough and unpredictable. The Warriors have worked very hard since last year and we want to become a force again in KZN rugby. So far things have gone our way but we taking one game at a time. Every player knows what’s expected and what they need to do. With the great team spirit in the club things can only go from strength to strength,” he said.
The next game is against Westville Old Boys at home this Saturday at 3.30pm. The seconds play at 2pm.
“Westville has been the surprise package of 2015, beating Harlequins and Hillcrest and drawing with Richards Bay, so it’s probably going to be our hardest game so far,” said Henderson.
Try scorers were Ben Oosthuizen, Chris Mitchell (2), Ross Steyn, Marcell Sass, Theo Nicholls, and a penalty try for collapsing the scrum in the red area.
Eben Botha kicked seven conversions.
Men of the match were Juandré Koekemoer (forwards) and Theo Nicholls (backline).
The team was: 1 Jaco Coetzee, 2 Juandré Koekemoer, 3 Ben Oosthuizen, 4 Jade Nyman, 5 Gormingo Mzunga, 6 Dawie Durrheim, 7 Jeandré Coetzee, 8 Juan van der Berg (c), 9 Chris Mitchell (v/c), 10 Theo Nicholls, 11 Subisiso Kunene, 12 Tienie Viljoen, 13 Marcell Sass, 14 Ross Steyn, 15 Eben Botha. Bench: 16 Lourens Stapelberg, 17 Jaques Coetzee, 18 Renaldo Brieley, 19 Pieter Smith, 20 Dylan Kroon, 21 Bongi Mhle, 22 Jonathan Engelbrecht.
