Quins 1sts show their class against Ballito
Man of the match awards went to Sherr Saroop and Shaldon Lourens.
IT was a very special occasion for Harlequins Rugby Club as they fielded a third side for the first time in many years on Friday night.
It’s a very decent side too and well done to everyone for getting it up and running.
They lost their first outing to Crusaders in Durban North, but it was a narrow 11-10 defeat and with a little bit of luck, it could have ended in victory. Tries for Quins were scored by Rousseau du Plessis and André Lund. Man of the match awards went to Rousseau du Plessis and Charl Geldenhuys.
On another beautiful Autumn afternoon on the Bluff, Harlequins took on Ballito Dolphins in their first division clash on Saturday.
The second team were pretty much in control the whole day and were never really troubled by their opponents. Ballito did score on the stroke of half time, but found themselves 19-7 down at the break after Matthew Havenga, Sherr Saroop and a penalty try put the Mighty Quins in a commanding position. Jeffery Ackerman added the rest with the boot. The second half was much tighter as the heat again played a role and the match lost its rhythm. Jeffery Ackerman and Shaldon Lourens crossed the tryline again and Ballito scored a late consolation try to give the Harlequins a third successive bonus point victory of 36-14. Man of the match awards went to Sherr Saroop and Shaldon Lourens.
The first XV started their game well and looked to bounce back after their defeat last week to Durban Mets. Flyhalf Eben Botha showed his class when he darted through the defense and score a sublime try to add to his early penalty. Harlequins were dominating the territory and possession stats but it was a plucky Ballito side who were fighting hard and gave as good as they got. The match continued on the same trend and Quins were left wondering how to turn attack into points as the Ballito defense was standing firm.
Ballito scored two tries of their own, but it was the last 10 minutes that proved the most exciting for the spectators. First it was Harlequins that was chasing the game at 12-8 down and scored a beautiful team try in the left-hand corner when Bryce Williams finished off a play that lasted countless phases. With the score line showing 15-12 to Quins, it was now Ballito chasing the game and they came close on a number of occasions but it was the home side that dug deep and kept them out to run out deserved winners. Man of the match awards went to Jonathan Dippenaar and Eben Botha.
This week the league has a bye due to the Easter weekend, before the team returns with a home game against Westville next Saturday, 22 April.
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