The Queenstown derby
The Derby between local rivals Queen’s and Hangklip lived up to expectation and had the large crowd of supporters on their feet with excitement, as the game hung in the balance until the final whistle was blown, signalling a 13-8 victory for Queen’s.
While the Hangklip game plan of keeping the ball amongst their forwards proved effective, it might have been worth their while spreading the ball wider on occasion, as the Queen’s tight five were equally effective in neutralising many of these forward onslaughts. Queen’s on the other hand, opted to attack with their forwards in the midfield, with lock Samuel Borsah and prop Andy Mrwebi carrying the ball well on the crash.
As was expected, both sides defended with absolute commitment, resulting in numerous ferocious exchanges on the ground at the point of breakdown. During the early exchanges, the Hangklip forwards did well to effect a number of valuable turnovers, but as the game progressed, the Queen’s loose trio contested well to secure their own ball.
The Hangklip no 8, Jaco de Beer was instrumental in setting up the second phase for his team, breaking from the base of the scrum time and time again, although this option became a little predictable as the game progressed. Queen’s struggled in the line-outs thanks to some good work by the Burger twins, while the scrums were evenly contested.
Queen’s appeared to have the upperhand during the latter stages of the first half, and also during the opening stages of the second half, and displayed good variety in their game, taking the ball through many phases. With a reasonable 13-3 lead at the break, it looked like Queen’s might stretch this lead even further, but to their credit, Hangklip proved otherwise. It was during this period that Queen’s scored, through a well executed forward move from the base of the scrum, allowing lock Bulelani Mbuqe to score, converted by Cronje.
Hangklip rallied well during the final 15 minutes of the game and benefited from the fresh wind in their favour. During this period, the Queen’s defensive capabilities were really put to the test as the Hangklip forwards mauled towards the Queen’s try line, on numerous occasions, eventually resulting in a try in the 19th minute in the second half.
With time running out, the Queenians found themselves under tremendous pressure to defend their lead, resulting in a number of critical errors which very nearly cost them the game. In the end, however, Queen’s showed tremendous character to hold on and emerge victorious by the narrow margin of 13-8.
What impressed me about the game, was the sheer intensity of the contest, and even more so, the fine spirit in which it was played. Well done gentleman. !
By Mike Boy
