Sweet taste of victory for Rhinos

THE beer tasted ever so sweet and the celebrations went long into the evening on Saturday, after Rhinos 1 beat Vryheid 29-10 in a Junior Castle Murray Cup first division quarter final clash at Mick Kelly Park.

The home side dominated play from start to finish, with Vryheid just holding on by their fingertips.

Rhinos demolished the visitor’s scrums, line-outs and set pieces, counter-rucking and counter-attacking from all over the park.

But once again simple handling errors slipped into play and trying to off-load at the wrong times is what made the score only 29, instead of 50.

A few tries went begging and some conversions were missed, but in the end, the Rhinos made it through to the semi-finals to be played on Friday evening, where they will take on Newcastle Highlanders.

The venue for the match will be drawn on Monday evening in Durban.

Full-back Zak Dlomo opened up the Rhinos scoring when he dotted down in the 20th minute to hand the home side a 5-0 lead.

It was not long before Corné Els, who has not played since he got back from England six months ago, crashed over for the Rhinos’ second try of the day.

The score read 10-0 at half time, with the muddy field, slippery and overcast conditions affecting both teams.

Momentum

Front rower Justin Caroll opened the second half scoring, after using his huge frame and momentum to crash over for a try, which Els converted.

Lock forward Wiehan Hay then crossed the whitewash, with Els converting to take the score to 24-0 in the 65th minute.

Vryheid eventually followed their GPS system to the try line and opened up their scoring account with a try by Gerhard Venter.

But this excitement was short-lived, when Ian Petzer replied with a try of his own, to extend the lead to 29-5.

But Vryheid never gave up and were rewarded through a try from fullback Xolisi Nkosi to have the final say and end the game at 29-10.

Captain Karli Schulze (forwards) and Ian Petzer (backline) were awarded the men of the match awards for their standout performances.

The Rhinos were elated with the win, but need to get back down to serious business, as Friday night’s game is not only a semi-final, but psychological warfare for the promotion/relegation game that will see both teams in action again later in the season.