Friday, 22 July 2011

Make-or-break task for Rhinos

Thanda ZRA Zululand Rhinos will travel to Pietermaritzburg this coming Saturday for their all-important clash with Maritzburg Varsity. After their successful run, the students let themselves down in last week’s fixture with a narrow - but significant - defeat at the hands of Jaguars. The latter are the wooden spoonists at the moment, but are only four points behind the Rhinos, who managed to keep their heads above water with a fabulous 13-3 win over fancied Harlequins at Mick Kelly Park on Friday night. The team finishing at the bottom of the Premier League will have to contest the relegation match at the end of the season. For this reason it is vitally important that the Rhinos keep on winning. They still have to play Old Boys at the Riverside Sports Club in the final round on Friday 29 July. Jaguars will play Harlequins and then College Rovers in two away fixtures, which could be tough for them. But whatever happens, it’s going to be a close call for the Rhinos. A victory - or even a bonus point from the trip to Maritzburg - may be enough to help them steer clear of that dreaded promotion-relegation match. The Rhinos are expected to announce an unchanged side for Saturday’s match. The team: Corné Els, Thulani Mdluli, Jaco Campher, Victor Campher, Hennie Swart, Dirkie de Waal, Michael Neysschennes, Warren Graff, Chris Kemp, Welcome Nomzanga, JC Claasens, Dwayne Paul, Borris van Jaarsveld, Callie Schulz, Jaco Holtzhausen. Reserves: Pelican Mabena, Kevin Smith and Ross Cayhard.