Swallows needed team talk to beat Breakers
Breakers put up a courageous effort in their home match against defending Super Rugby champions Mdantsane’s Swallows but fell short in a 1710 loss at the Mlungisi Stadium on Saturday.
Despite the defeat, Breakers head coach Sokwebe said the team’s performance showed their potential to compete with the league’s top teams.
“This was the first match of the season, and Swallows are the defending champions, so I’m very happy with our performance. Our boys played very well. They showed character and determination.”
Breakers had a promising start, scoring within 10 minutes with a try by centre-back Lonwabo Ngculu. But the conversion failed, putting them ahead 5-0.*
At the 20-minute mark, Swallows scored their first try, also unconverted.
Breakers remained determined, but Swallows struck again, bringing the score to 10-5.
Breakers’ Xelelo Siphelo scored another try to bring the score to a tantalising 10-10. But a few minutes later Swallows
retaliated with a try which was converted, bringing the exciting game to a 17-10 final score.
Sokwebe said the team started on a high note: “We scored a try and they came back with two unanswered tries, which exposed our defensive weakness on the outside, which we’ll be focusing on in training.
“In the second half, we also ended on a high note with most of the ball possession.
“The team is a recent combination of players from two different teams. We played some friendly games to help them gel, which shows in today’s tight scoreline,” he said.
He said along with the large crowd support, “Sunrise from Qonce also came to support us, as a few of our players assisted them in an Easter Tournament.”
Swallows head coach Sokhana Mkona said: “The first half was a bit of a tight game. You could see Breakers had prepared themselves. We told the guys, ‘let’s not just open it up, let’s keep the game tight, and then it will open up outside’. It happened exactly that way. Our strength is in our forwards.”
Breakers face WSU on Saturday in East London, followed by a home game against EL Police next week.