Newfound commitment serves Rhinos well
THE Reservoir Hills Rhinos got back to winning ways on Thursday at Kings Park 6 in CF Glew 5th Division League fixture against old foes Burning Spears, in the second game of the season, and are raring to go for their next encounter on Friday.
With Seskhona club pulling out of the league at the last moment, the Rhinos’ momentum was disrupted, with empty weeks during which players could have lost their momentum.
However, club chairman Niren ‘Mizzy’ Misra worked hard to arrange a friendly against a fourth division side of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) to keep the players focused.
Punching well above their weight and playing the game in 4 x 20-minute chukkas gave coach Andrew Osborn a chance to see whether his drills were implemented.
Taking the lessons learnt from the three-tries-to-one loss to DUT, the Rhinos dug deep to come from behind and shut the door on the Spears with a 27-15 bonus point win.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. Spears were spitting fire to put the Rhinos under pressure in the first half, turning over the ball repeatedly and forcing errors in their haste to get into the break 12-10 ahead.
After a tough half-time team talk from Osborn, the boys dug deep by piling on the pressure in the scrums to force crucial turnovers.
It was a monumental effort by returning Rhino Lapzen Matsoso, who put in telling tackles in the middle of the field with Dean Moneron and Elgin Hatting, to turn the tables on the Spears.
Masterful
Captain Lerato ‘Glass’ Khuzwayo was once again masterful at flyhalf, dictating play when he had the opportunity, combining with Siphamandla ‘Sky’ Tshabalala and Jonty Osborn to seal the game with bonuspoint tries for the Rhinos. New recruits Solomzi Skiti, Lincoln Tshumba and Lucqmaan Mohammed once again fronted up admirably, proving they have come a long way since January, from brute novices to encouraging players.
Misra was encouraged by the Rhinos’ performance.
“It’s a work in progress. Nonetheless, I was impressed by their ability to dig deep when it counted, to grind out a win. This bodes well for the future.
“Together with the commitment shown by the new players this can only mean the Rhinos are on the upward curve.”
The Rhinos are second on the log after two games in which they gained maximum points. Their focus now shifts to Ogwini Bafana at the Mangosuthu University of Technology on Friday at 7pm.