BOTH Mancosa Empangeni Rhinos and Richards Bay lived up to the hype and produced a humdinger of a game in wet and muddy conditions in front of a packed crowd at the Richards Bay Rugby Club on Saturday afternoon.
The first Premier League clash of the season were evenly poised with Rhinos just managing to edge out the home team 12-10.
‘We had to adapt to the weather conditions and stick the basics,’ said Rhinos coach Charles Mndaweni.
‘Richards Bay played well, but we played the right game at the right time, which was vitally important and which paid off in the end.
‘We made two crucial mistakes which proved costly, but overall I am pleased with our performance.’
Richards Bay took an early 10-6 lead at the halfway mark thanks to tries from outside center Ruan Venter and flyhalf JP Rossouw, with the visitors’ points coming from the boot of fullback Jors Dannhauser.
Rhinos dominated possession in the first half, but failed to finish owing to the slippery conditions.
Richards Bay turned a lot of ball over at the breakdowns at key times.
Though both sides stepped up their games in the second half, silly errors continued because of the tough conditions.
The only points in the second half came from Dannhauser, who nailed two penalties to carry the Rhinos home..
In the earlier game between the second teams, Richards Bay turned the tables with a comprehensive 26-0 victory, with Vitalis Simelane scoring all the points. The flyhalf scored three tries, kicked three penalties and one conversion.
Both sides will be in action this Saturday. Rhinos host College Rovers at Mick Kelly Park and the Bay boys travel to take on Amanzintoti.
Kick-off times will be at 2pm (second teams) and 3.30pm.
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