Mali leads troops to explosive win over Army in UK
A SPARKLING performance from Border wing Unathi Mali set the South African Select Women on their way to a comfortable 27-5 victory in their opening match of their England tour against the British Army in Aldershot on Saturday.
Mali claimed a superb hat-trick to atone for her first-half yellow card and help the side begin their tour on a high.
“Our goal when we left South Africa was to win our first match to build momentum and confidence, and I am very proud that we managed to achieve that,” said Border and SA Select Women’s captain Nolusindiso Booi.
“We took positives and negatives from the match against the British Army, but the important thing is that we learned lessons during the game and we hope to carry that through into our next two matches.”
Booi says the team was now looking forward to their match against the England Academy scheduled for tomorrow, with a better understanding of the demands of international rugby after several players had their first taste of top-class rugby on Saturday.
“As a team we now have a good idea of what to expect going forward and also what we need to work on, so we will continue working hard at training in the next few days,” explained Booi.
“The win against the British Army was a good start to the tour, and it is up to us to build on it.”
Mali, a capped Springbok Women’s Sevens player, was in fine form against the British Army as she opened up the scoring in the fifth minute with a try and backed it up with another one four minutes later.
However, the team was dealt a big blow early in the second quarter as Mali and centre Zinhle Ndawonde received yellow cards for a high tackle and a breakdown infringement respectively, allowing the opposition to capitalise and score their first and only try to trail 10-5 at the break.
The team then built on their encouraging attacking display in the second half, and the rewards followed as 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup lock Celeste Adonis crossed the whitewash for their third try.
Mali earned her hat-trick late in the half, despite the team receiving their third yellow card minutes before, and they maintained their solid form until the final whistle which paved the way for replacement flanker Kamohele Makoele to score the team’s fifth try on the stroke of fulltime for the satisfying 27-5 victory.