Gardens f lourish against Breakers
GARDENS emerged as emphatic victors when they beat Breakers from Komani (Queenstown) 55-5 in the second round of the Eastern Cape Super 12 club rugby tournament at the Rosedale Stadium in Uitenhage on Saturday.
In what started off as a neck-andneck contest, the home side soon showed the Breakers that they would not be beaten in their own backyard.
Gardens brought the game to the opposition when Boeta Theodor and Nathal Forbes scored backto-back tries five minutes into the game. Gardens displayed good hands when Collin Webb and Haywin Jansen worked together to score a third try for their team.
The home side took control of the game as a result of having 80% of the territory and camped on the opposition’s 22m line towards the end of the first half to lead 26-0 at the break.
The home side accelerated their momentum in the second half when their backline displayed even more confidence with the ball.
Darlington Gans proved to be a problem for Breakers as he scored three tries to push the score to 42-0 with 15 minutes remaining.
Fatigue got the better of Breakers as they continuously knocked the ball on. Fullback Buhle Dinsi used his right boot to keep a rampant Gardens at bay on occasion.
In an attempt to change the momentum of their opposition, Breakers brought in four substitutes to reinforce their defence.
Breakers were denied a try when tighthead prop Nyameko Maso was on the receiving end of a crunching tackle from Gardens wing Collin Webb. But they were awarded a consolation try when speedy inside centre Sibabalo Mfenyana stole the ball at a ruck and ran for the tryline in the last minute of the game.
Gardens received a bonus point from the match for scoring more than four tries and moved one position up on the log to number two, behind Cambridge in Group A of the Super 12 table.
Disappointed Breakers manager Thando Matata said: “Gardens were the better team today. We made a lot of errors from the onset of the game and we were punished for it.”
Gardens head coach Dhameer Maarman said: “I would like to thank Gardens for showing discipline and quality rugby today. Our confidence is back now and we are ready to retain our title.”
ý At Potsdam, not even a haka from Walter Sisulu University supporters could prevent East London Police from continuing with their dominance over the students at the weekend.
The rampant Police ran in four tries to thump the All Blacks 25-3 in a game of two halves of the Eastern Cape Super 12 club rugby game at the campus on Saturday.
The hosts were looking for their first victory against the cops, but the servicemen taught the students a lesson with an easy win.
Police coach Alistair Alexander said he was happy with the result after losing against Buffaloes last weekend.
“We were mentally and physically more prepared. Last week, we were too slow at the rucks which we improved on today,” he said.
The weekend’s results were: