SKZN rugby edges out Sharks Academy
SKZN came out guns blazing in the second half and once again drew first blood through a converted try from centre Rowan Williams.
In a thrilling encounter at Douglas Mitchell Sports Ground, the Southern KZN (SKZN) Rugby Academy edged out The Sharks Academy (TSA) from Durban in a hard fought 19-12 victory last Saturday.
The game kicked off with a special tribute to Boet Fourie (founder and owner of Margate Sports School) and Casper de Koker (former principal of Esayidi TVET College) who lost their battle with Covid-19 recently.
Players and managers from both teams met in the centre of the field for a moment of silence to commemorate their lifetime contributions to the SKZN Academy.
The match saw size favour the visitors, in what was a physical encounter from the first whistle with a display of hard hits between the forward packs.
The men from Durban came close to crossing the line in the 12th minute, however a skip pass from fly-half Elnardo Uithaler saw the ball go out into to touch.
TSA were made to pay for the wasted opportunity four minutes later as SKZN eighth-man Menzi Nxumalo powered over the try line for the opening try. SKZN fly-half Minenhle Siwela missed the conversion, as the home team took a 5-0 lead.
However TSA did not sit back after conceding, responding with physical pressure that backed up the home side into their five metre line. However the SKZN defence proved to be impenetrable as Nxumalo turned hero once again, turning the ball over to set up a counter attack.
The game began to open up with both teams making frequent visits to each other’s 22 but neither side managed to finish when it mattered.
The home team then snuck in a try in the final minute of the first half through excellent play after Nxumalo offloaded to Goodwill Siwela, who set up Liyabona Hobongwana to power over the try line before a conversion from Minentle made it 12-0 going into the half.
SKZN came out guns blazing in the second half and once again drew first blood through a converted try from centre Rowan Williams.
TSA were not about to stop asking questions of the SKZN defence, eventually penetrating in the 58th minute through Enrique van Oordt, with Uithaler failing to add the extra two points.
The game would go down to wire as TSA narrowed the deficit to seven points in the 76th minute through wing Sello Maketlo, followed by an Uithaler conversion.
The game became frantic in the dying minutes as TSA applied immense pressure to a seemingly impenetrable SKZN defence, which proved to be the difference on the day, getting the win after having gone down 32-24 in Richmond recently.
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