On Saturday afternoon Mikil Yili was host to an Eastern Province Rugby Union Sectional Cup competition match between the Brumbies and the Easterns.
On Saturday afternoon Mikil Yili was host to an Eastern Province Rugby Union Sectional Cup competition match between the Brumbies and the Easterns.
The match was preceded by the two teams’ reserves sides, where the Brumbies reserves trampled the Easterns reserves by 37–10. Easterns narrowly missed the chance of playing Brumbies in the Easter weekend’s finals so they went head to head, hoping to redeem themselves.
In the early stages of the match, Easterns commited a foul which cost them a penalty in front of the posts. Brumbies’ fly half Antonio Wilton opened the score.
Five minutes later Ezra Juries’ try and Wilton’s conversion took the score to 10–0 to Brumbies. In the 15th minute, after several attempts, Phumelelo Mvula scored a try for Easterns, who played some great rugby, putting the Brumbies side under pressure.
Soon after Easterns were down on the try line again, this time through a Zamumzi Lombo converted try that took the score to 10–12, putting Easterns in the lead for the first time in the match.
Not long after Wilton took put his side in a one point lead after a penalty kick that made it 13–12 to Brumbies.
Wilton again stretched the lead with another penalty kick half an hour into the match making it 16–12 to Brumbies. Three minutes later, Alfonso Speelman’s try changed the score to 21–12 to Brumbies going to half time.
In the second half both teams were launching attacks at each other. Lombo came back on the hour mark to score his second try of the match which brought the score to a tight 21–19.
Seven minutes later Lombo again sprinted through the Brumbies wall putting his side in the lead as the score turned 21-24 to Easterns.
Brumbies felt the pressure of trailing behind at this time of the match as there were only 10 minutes to make a difference.
Thirty-four minutes into the second half Brumbies broke through to score a converted try, bringing the score to 28–24.
In the dying minutes of the match Brumbies were awarded a penalty through which Wilton converted and brought the final score to Brumbies 31-24 Easterns.
Easterns team manager, Mzukisi Mali commented: “Even though we lost the game, we played tremendously well, as we were in the lead for two times in the game and playing against a big team like Brumbies is never easy but we showed them that we too can beat them.”
Andile Nayika is an independent citizen journalist for Grocott’s Mail
