Rhodes University Phoenix rugby side beat Lily White 19-12 in their third game of the South Eastern District Rugby Union (Sedru) league on Friday 15 April. The game was stopped five minutes before full-time after the floodlights went out, but nevertheless provided fans with an enthralling spectacle.
Rhodes University Phoenix rugby side beat Lily White 19-12 in their third game of the South Eastern District Rugby Union (Sedru) league on Friday 15 April. The game was stopped five minutes before full-time after the floodlights went out, but nevertheless provided fans with an enthralling spectacle.
Lily White's back line was more agile and consistently outpaced Phoenix. However, the home side were more physical and dominated the tackle and breakdown areas. The first try of the game was scored 12 minutes in by Rhodes Phoenix captain Milo Hoogwerf. Vice-captain Simon Amm added another before the break and Hoogwerf made no mistake with the conversion. The half-time score was 12-0 to Rhodes Phoenix.
Phoenix enjoyed dominance in the scrum for the first half and for the beginning of the second half. However, halfway into the second half, Lily White suffered a front rank injury and were unable to find a replacement. This resulted in uncontested scrums, which allowed Lily to gain some momentum.
Early in the second half of the game, Rhodes added a third try through Warwick Hattingh. Hoogwerf converted once again.
Lily White scored both their tries late in the second half within five minutes of each other as a result of some dazzling back play. However, moments after they had moved within a try of Rhodes, the game was called off.
The Rhodes Phoenix’s captain Milo Hoogwerf admitted that the team had not played a lot recently and that they had only put a structure together towards the end of the week, but with a triumphant smile, he said: “We came, we saw and we conquered.”
Lily White captain Thandile Maguma expressed pride in his team despite their loss. He stated: “I feel impressed by my team. The guys didn’t train for this game.” He said that he felt grateful towards Rhodes Rugby for the opportunity to play and especially thanked the coaches for a match played in good spirits.
