Dale in the pink after win over Selborne
Dale College gave their many supporters something to celebrate as their home venue of “The Graveyard” lived up to its reputation with a thrilling 19-15 win over their East London opponents, Selborne College, in Qonce, on Saturday.
Earlier this season, when the rivals met in the coastal city, Selborne eked out a 15-13 win, but there was a sense that the Dalians could produce something special on their Pink Day.
Besides the important community issue of raising awareness about those suffering from cancer, Dale showed that they remain a competitive outfit, despite a patchy record this season.
They enjoyed a decent lead when their skipper and No 8 Kamva Sithole went on a devastating run two minutes into the second half for their third try, which gave them a handy 19-5 cushion.
It was inevitable, though, that the committed Selbornians would fight their way back into contention because they are one of the last sides who would give up on a cause.
They found a way back into the game when they began to add width to their attacks, twice bringing powerful wing Iviwe Kabale into play, and he surged over for two tries to reduce the gap to 19-15 with 14 minutes left.
Selborne poured on the pressure in search of the winning score, but twice Dale was able to steal the ball from a ruck, and earn penalties, which brought them some relief. And yet they had to continue to work hard to keep their East London rivals at bay.
With the clock showing time up, Selborne received a penalty and kicked for touch to set up a lineout five metres from the Dale line. Unfortunately for them, a mistake on the throw-in saw a free kick go to Dale and with the time showing 73 minutes played, following a break for an injury, it was game over and jubilation for the home supporters.
Dale was quickly on the attack in the match, and they started on a high note when centre Phikolomzi Mtyatela powered his way over the line to make it 5-0.
Selborne responded in the 20th minute when prop Robert John-Osunkwo took possession of the ball from a maul and forced his way over to level matters.
Then came a crucial score on the stroke of halftime with a brilliant attack by Dale giving them the lead at the break. Big lock Kungawo Jaca made good ground inside the Selborne 22 and when he was held up, scrumhalf Wethumtha Malawana was on hand to pouch the offload and race through untouched. Soso Diyani added the conversion to take the score to 12-5.
The second half was evenly contested, with both sides showing their determination to conjure up the winning score.
Kabale was the star performer for Selborne but, eventually, it was the Dale grit and spirit to take something from the season that won them the day.
In East London, Stirling High was pushed all the way by Cambridge before emerging as 24-19 victors, while Hudson Park was too strong for Ooskus Gymnasium in their clash on Friday, romping to a 69-0 win.
Scorers:
Dale 19 College (12) – Tries: Phikolomzi Mtyatela, Wethumtha Malawana, Kamva Sithole. Conversions: Soso Dyani (2). Selborne College 15 (5) – Tries: Robert John-Osunkwo, Iviwe Kabale (2).
