Park deal 35-13 blow to NMMU

THE NMMU first team were thrashed 35-13 when they clashed in the Eastern Province Rugby Union Grand Challenge with Park Rugby Football Club at the Madibaz sports field at the weekend.

The home side started the game bravely against the bulky Park pack.

NMMU drew from a beautiful try from Mihlali Gqibithole.

Park replied with back-to-back tries from Francios Thysse that were dotted under the poles, guaranteeing them maximum points.

Just as Park thought they had the home side right where they wanted them, the Madibaz men changed tactics to utilise their speedy back line against a bigger Park.

Despite the difference in size, Madibaz kept finding gaps in the middle of Park and were eventually awarded a try from brilliant interplay between Joel Waits and skipper Andile Jho.

NNMU held their defensive form for the remainder of the first half, trailing by 13 to 21 at half time.

Park went into the second half with tremendous confidence that rewarded them with an early try.

The try lowered the morale in the NMMU camp and the home side were seen to make minor errors in their attack.

Park revved up the momentum and stretched the lead to 30 with 10 minutes on the clock to play.

Fatigue and frustration got the better of the Madibaz and they started looking careless with the ball and carried on wasteful banter that saw them miss out on two tries.

Park put the final nail in the coffin from a rolling maul that bulldozed the NMMU forwards over the try line.

NMMU first team manager David Maizda said: “The team needs to work on discipline more than anything else. They were a lot bigger than we are but we were able to hold our own.”

Park manager Ike Tuko said: “We were sure of getting a win here today. The score could have been bigger but the NMMU side played a good, competitive game.”