OC tops in Sedru Derby against Lily Whites

One of the biggest derbies in Sedru took place on Saturday afternoon at the Oval between Old Collegians (OC) and Lily White. OC retained their bragging rights and dominants over their arch rivals Lily White and it was again no different on Saturday 13 April. Klipfontein United, Eastern and Kowie United also recorded impressive victories over their opponents. Klipfontein is now the front runners and log leaders after round two.

Star flyhalf and playmaker of OC Siyabonga “Tsetse” Mahapi was the star performer for his side and was the difference between the two top sides in the end of their derby encounter. Mahapi was in sublime form and his all-round performance saw him scoop the Man of the Match Award by contributing all his side’s 23 points.

As expected, the game started at great pace and intensity with both teams executing their flair with entertaining and exciting running rugby. This brutal affair saw both teams making unnecessary errors with their over-eagerness to score points. The dangerous and skilful backline of OC showed their class out wide, with Xabiso Moni at inside centre crossing the advantage line consistently with his strong storming runs. Mahapi scored two converted tries in the first half to give his side a 14-0 lead at half time.

Lily Whites fought back nicely in the second half and played more like a unit. Their mobile forwards combined well and started gaining much needed momentum and territorial advantage. Mahapi slotted another penalty in the second half before Lily Whites replied with two converted tries to narrow matter at 17-14. But Mahapi’s brilliance took the game away from Blues with two further penalties deep in the second half, to secure his side a well earned 23-14 derby win. OC, who are the defending champions, are now one of the hot favourites early on in the league.

A closely contested affair between the Swallows and Kowie United took place in front of a large crowd on Saturday afternoon. Kowie pipped Swallows in the dying stages of the game to clinch a hard-fought 14-17 win. Kowie produced a good first half performance by scoring two tries in the form of winger Johnny Hilpert and outside centre Angelo Frazer to take a 10-0 lead after the first 40 minutes.

Swallows staged a good comeback in the second half that saw the visitor’s discipline let them down, resulting in a red card to their star prop forward Jerome Blaauw who left the field. Swallows took full advantage of this and scored two second half tries. The home side played with more confidence but it was too late in the end as Andley Jones slotted a penalty which would see Kowie gain a narrow 17-14 win.

The Wanderers gave Klipfontein a run for their money at the Mickey Yili stadium on Saturday, forcing the visitors to earn their victory. Klipfontein came out full of confidence and remained calm to collect the maximum bonus point. The Wanderers forwards gained momentum as they launched attacks at the visitors but made a few errors on attack that prevent them from scoring more points. Klipfontein, on the other hand, played a very structured game plan and their mobile forwards and speedy backs complimented each other very well on attack, seeing them in the lead at the half time break.

The second half saw the Wanderers forwards combining well together to set up a few tries, putting the visitors under pressure. However, Klipfontein’s skilful backs come to the party as they were very unpredictable on attack. Cornelius Scheepers, Deon Gunn, Rayneal Coltman, Wanda Kama, Donovan Stone and Alvarno Pullen scored tries for Klipfontein, and helped the visitors hold on at the end to claim a bonus point 34-24 win.

Easterns put up a dominant performance against the struggling Winter Rose side at the Mickey Yili Stadium on Saturday afternoon with a convincing 29-3 win. Easterns scored four tries and also earned a valuable bonus point in the end.

Siyabulela Gebhuza, Sthembele Njokweni, Bulelani Maguma and Xoalni Mali scored the tries for Easterns, and piled the pressure on the Roses. In the end, Easterns proved too strong for their counterparts and were full value for the 29-3 bonus point win.