Rugby fans were treated to a sporting rarity at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium on May 20 with a double-header as the Border Bulldogs and Border Ladies took to the field to crush their respective oppositions in the Women’s Premier Division and men’s Mzantsi Challenge.
The Bulldogs claimed victory against the US outfit San Clemente Rhinos 41-36 and the Border Ladies registered their second consecutive win for the year, beating KZN’s Sharks with a whopping 31-3.
The Bulldogs put up a great display of strength-based rugby which interim coach, Thembani Mkokeli, said they spent long hours practising ahead of the game, with emphasis on conditioning and strengthening defense.
In previous games, a porous defense from Border allowed for mistakes and easy opportunities for the opposition to score.
Initially, the Bulldogs were off to a slow start which allowed the Americans to sneak in an early try.
But the Bulldogs’ training proved effective as they retaliated with teamwork to close gaps in the defense against particularly tenacious Rhinos centre Johan Grobler.
After an evenly matched first half, the visitors had the Bulldogs trailing at 26-22.
Consistently outstanding performances by Border’s Lelethu Gcilitshane and Vuyisani Mavuso allowed the Bulldogs to remain hot at the opposition’s heels throughout the second half until a yellow card for infringement sent Rhinos forward JJ Scheepers off the field at 33-27 for the US team.
This left the gap open for the Bulldogs to blaze through to victory with the help of scrumhalf Merlin du Plessis and Mkhonto Caku.
Mkokeli said the Border side dominated in lineouts and presented exceptional attack in the scrums but conceded speed was lacking at times.
“We do have players that are naturally quick in their pace but this lags a bit when they do not have ball in hand.
“By the time they get the ball only then does the pace improve and by then it’s too late.
“Going forward we want to work harder on picking up the pace and maintaining it throughout the game.
“This will assist in giving us an attack advantage.
“Going into the last three games of the Mzantsi Challenge we are aiming for wins only and we intend to show up with our best on match days.
“We have to make sure all our remaining games are good performances because we have turned a corner now and we need to maintain this momentum.”
