Nelspruit Rugby Club secured their spot in the Mpumalanga Super League final with a thriller of a semi-final victory over Witbank Rugby Club at Kudu Park on Saturday, July 18.
The teams were never separated by more than 10 points, with Nelspruit winning 34-27.
Tempers flared in the second half of the high-pressure encounter.
The Witbank lads gave it their all until the final whistle, but it was not to be.
Nelspruit dominated possession and territory, but Witbank made the most of their limited ball.
Early tries set energetic pace
Witbank scored shortly after the kick-off with Lefa Letshaba dotting down. Juan-Louis Fourie was successful with the conversion attempt.
Nelspruit hit back three minutes later with Jayden Bekker barging over for a try. Johan Aspeling slotted the conversion.
Nelspruit continued to attack with venom, and the Witbank defence held until the 20th minute when Benito Goeda broke through for a try. Aspeling sent the conversion wide.
In the 33rd minute, Fourie was yellow-carded for a tip tackle on Aspeling. Duard Deichmann scored from the resulting tap penalty and Aspeling added the two points for a 17-7 lead at half-time.
Witbank fight back before tempers flare
Witbank came out snorting in the second half.
In the 43rd minute, the Highveld club’s S’bonelo Mabena broke blindside from a scrum, made a clean break and passed to Mike Kriel, who scored the try. Fourie kicked a dead-eye conversion.
The teams continued to produce thrilling action, much to the delight of their supporters.
A 50th-minute try by Nelspruit’s Lourens Erasmus from a maul was converted by Aspeling.
Fourie kicked a penalty goal for Witbank three minutes later.
Nelspruit again scored from a maul with Manelisi Nkosi powering over the try line in the 57th minute. Aspeling kicked the conversion between the uprights.
In the 64th minute, a scuffle broke out between Goeda and Witbank’s Mynhardt Smit. The situation escalated into a mass of players pushing each other. The result was yellow cards for Smit, Goeda and Bekker.
Nelspruit were also awarded the resulting penalty, and Joshua Maas kicked the three points.
Late surge falls short as White River await
Witbank threw everything at Nelspruit in the final 10 minutes.
Fourie finished off a backline attack with a try, which he converted.
He added a penalty goal shortly afterwards to take Witbank to within seven points.
Nelspruit held out in the final minutes of the game.
The final score, 34-27, was a fair reflection of what happened on the field in the 80 minutes.
In the other semi-final, White River defeated Sasol 39-36.
The final between White River and Nelspruit will be played at White River Rugby Club on August 1.
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markkinnear
www.citizen.co.za
