Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Rhinos cause major upset

With an unbelievable performance of guts and determination, Thanda ZRA Zululand Rhinos bounced back to restore their honour. The local warriors turned the KZN Premier League on its head with a stunning 13-3 victory over Super Spar Harlequins at a wet, but happy Mick Kelly Park on Friday evening. ‘It was just the sort of result we needed,’ said an elated coach Kokkie Crous as he thanked the players for their commitment in taking out one of the top sides in the league. Right from the very first scrum, which the Rhinos heeled against the head, the visitors knew that they were in for a hard night’s work.. Admittedly they were first on the board with a penalty kick from flyhalf Stevie Meyer in the fifth minute of the game. But that’s where their scoring ended as the Rhinos’ brilliant defence clicked in and kept them under the whip and away from their line for most of the match.
Not a player flinched or missed a tackle right until the final whistle. Their line was under threat on occasion, especially in the second half. Quins tried to run the ball, but without success and the odd knock on did help. But the Rhinos, who had built up a 13-3 lead at the stage were not going to let things slip.

Testing conditions
Mick Kelly Park was an absolute quagmire and with rain teeming down for most of the match, it was difficult to determine who was who in the zoo.
But full marks to the referee for his control and to the players on both sides who were in this match right until the end. The Rhinos took a 6-3 lead at the break with two brilliant penalties from Corné Els from every bit of 45 metres on each occasion. Els has really come on since taking over the fullback berth and was one of the Rhino squad’s star performers. His tactical kicking and kicking for goal were absolutely superb. Another player who stood out was Chris Kemp. He was not only in the thick of things throughout the match, but scored the Rhinos try. He received possession 20 meters out and with a strong run beating a few defenders who were hanging on for dear life, stormed in under the poles. Els added the conversion and the Rhinos were in command. With 20 minutes minutes left the visitors threw everything they had at the Zululanders in a desperate effort to get back into the match, but they were up against a determined team who were absolutely superb in the way they defended their line.
In the second team match, the Rhinos scored four tires by Mauritz Alberts, Letehie Masibuko (2) and Johan Malan to win by 25 points to 10.