Queen’s captures Dale derby honours, wins for Brandwag and Framesby
Queen’s College dominated territory in the second half of their King Price Derby Series clash against Dale College, in Qonce, on Saturday, to win another furiously contested Eastern Cape battle 21-13.
Despite conceding a try after the break, Queen’s dictated much of the action in the second period as they spent the majority of the time in the home team’s half.
They eventually put the result beyond doubt when a series of forward drives saw big prop Amyoli Ngxongwana force his way over. Fullback Mveli Mqolo added the conversion and the final whistle went soon afterwards.
Despite suffering another defeat, Dale need not feel disappointed for they fought all the way, despite the pressure they came under in the second half.
They opened the scoring with a penalty from flyhalf Sonwabise Dyani and stayed in the match until the closing stages.
After conceding a try when Queen’s centre Splash Mgwebu burst through in the 13th minute, Dyani made it a one-point game at the break with his second penalty seven minutes later.
Dale was then cruelly punished shortly after the restart when an attack deep into the Queen’s half resulted in flying wing Ayathanda Mtyando, arguably the fastest player in the Komani outfit, pulling off an interception and racing 70 metres to score under the poles.
Ncutu Kepe made it 14-6 with the conversion and Queen’s looked to be taking control.
However, the Dalians’ fighting spirit was epitomized in the 42nd minute when they broke down the left side and hooker Lakhanya Mbewu received the final pass to beat the cover defence over 20 metres for an outstanding try.
Dyani’s conversion closed the gap to one point, but the Dalians were seldom able to spend any length of time in the Queen’s half after that.
Instead, their defensive qualities were constantly put to the test as the Queen’s forwards pounded away at the line. While they stood up well, it seemed inevitable that the dam wall would finally break, and it was Queen’s College who claimed the bragging rights.
In Kariega, Brandwag and Kingswood fought out a fiery battle, which saw the home side receiving a yellow card and Kingswood a red card for foul play in the 27th minute.
The match was in the balance until the closing minutes when, with Kingswood trailing 7-12 and on the attack, a loose ball was kicked ahead by Angelo Adams and wing Dwayne Louw latched onto it to outsprint the defence in a thrilling 60-metre run to secure a 19-7 win for Brandwag.
Centre Wendell Uithaler was outstanding for Brandwag and showed his running ability by sidestepping the defence for their first try in the 12th minute.
Adams added the conversion and both sides had more chances to score but could not capitalise on them in the first half.
Three minutes after the restart Kingswood knocked the ball on and Rezanio Petrus claimed possession to speed through a gap before unloading to Uithaler for his second try.
Kingswood often looked threatening but failed to finish off their moves until the powerful James Mackenzie took a final pass from a backline move to speed over for their only try of the match.
In Gqeberha, Framesby took control of their match from the start, scoring a try in the fourth minute en route to a resounding 48-21 win over their East London opponents, Hudson Park.
They ran in four tries in each half, often finding gaps in the Hudson defence, which they cleverly exploited.
Hudson must be commended for staying in the fight and they were rewarded with two further tries in the second half after trailing 7-22 at the break.
SCORERS
Queen’s College 21 (14) – Tries: Splash Magwebu, Ayathanda Mtyanda, Amyoli Ngxongwana. Conversions: Ncutu Kepe (2), Mveli Mqolo. Dale Collehge 13 (6) – Tries: Lakhanya Mbewu. Penalties: Sonwabise Dyani. Conversions: Dyani (2).
Brandwag 19 (7) – Tries: Wendell Uithaler (2), Dwayne Louw. Conversions: Angelo Adams (2). Kingswood College 7 (0) – Try: James Mackenzie. Conversion: Praise Matsila.
