Dale College triumphed 24-19 in a cracking schools rugby match against hosts Selborne College on Saturday afternoon.
There was a bit of a subdued atmosphere at the ground with the Selborne supporters not in as much voice as usual, which was most likely due to the passing of two pupils in a car accident in the early hours of the morning.
However, before the game started both teams and supporters witnessed a sombre minute of silence in tribute before getting the match under way.
For Dale it came down to never giving up as they trailed for large parts of the match, but fought back from being behind twice to finally take the lead with seven minutes of the match to go, which they then managed to hold out as Selborne went all out to get the potentially match-winning try.
It also apparently marked Dale’s hundredth ever win over Selborne.
A chilly cross-field wind greeted the teams at the kick-off and made conditions a little tricky.
However, it was Selborne who made all the early inroads and found themselves on the front foot in Dale’s territory for the opening minutes of the match.
Dale’s first meaningful foray into Selborne territory came in the 10th minute. However, their second attack into Selborne’s turned into points for the hosts.
Good work at the breakdown by Selborne’s forwards saw them steal the ball. With the backline counter-attacking at pace, a good chip and chase was put in before the ball found its way to Selborne captain and centre Sango Xamlashe who went over to the right of the uprights.
Flyhalf David Coetzer added the extras to give Selborne a 7-0 lead.
Some good play from Dale then saw them come close a few times, but Selborne’s forwards were immense in stealing the ball in the first half.
It was from another steal that Selborne countered for their second try as they secured the ball on their own five metre and tried to hack the ball clear. However, it only travelled as far as the 22m where Selborne chased well, won the ball back and managed to get it through the hands with Coetzer receiving the ball just before the halfway and then stepping on the gas to run the ball under the posts for a converted score with 12 minutes of the half left.
With the half winding down Dale made one more concerted push for points and were rewarded when from a ruck on Selborne’s 22m the ball was popped to flyhalf Siphosethu Dlongodlongo, who burst through the Selborne defence and dived over to the left of the uprights.
Dlongodlongo converted his try and the half ended with Selborne 14-7 up.
Dale took that momentum from the end of the first half and started the second on top pushing Selborne deep into their territory, with Dale scoring the first points of the half through a try from eighthman and captain Siyanda Am, with Dlongodlongo’s conversion evening the scores up.
And then, from a penalty in Dale’s half Selborne kicked into their 22m for a lineout.
From the lineout Selborne took the ball central, before swinging wide left, and reserve hooker Mila Bomela received the ball and dived over in the corner as Selborne retook the lead 19-14 in the 52nd minute. The conversion missed.
Four minutes later Dale reduced the deficit to two as Dlongodlongo converted a good long-range penalty after Selborne infringed at the breakdown.
Dale were now in the ascendancy and from a penalty on Selborne’s 10m line they kicked into Selborne’s 22m.
From there they secured the ball and executed a superb backline move to open up the Selborne defence and wing Sinoxolo Dlongodlongo burst through to score under the posts.
The conversion put Dale up 24-19, and a ferocious defensive effort in the final moments kept Selborne out, with Dale kicking the ball out after the hooter.
Selborne go down in pulsating tie
There was a bit of a subdued atmosphere at the ground with the Selborne supporters not in as much voice as usual, which was most likely due to the passing of two pupils in a car accident in the early hours of the morning.
However, before the game started both teams and supporters witnessed a sombre minute of silence in tribute before getting the match under way.
For Dale it came down to never giving up as they trailed for large parts of the match, but fought back from being behind twice to finally take the lead with seven minutes of the match to go, which they then managed to hold out as Selborne went all out to get the potentially match-winning try.
It also apparently marked Dale’s hundredth ever win over Selborne.
A chilly cross-field wind greeted the teams at the kick-off and made conditions a little tricky.
However, it was Selborne who made all the early inroads and found themselves on the front foot in Dale’s territory for the opening minutes of the match.
Dale’s first meaningful foray into Selborne territory came in the 10th minute. However, their second attack into Selborne’s turned into points for the hosts.
Good work at the breakdown by Selborne’s forwards saw them steal the ball. With the backline counter-attacking at pace, a good chip and chase was put in before the ball found its way to Selborne captain and centre Sango Xamlashe who went over to the right of the uprights.
Flyhalf David Coetzer added the extras to give Selborne a 7-0 lead.
Some good play from Dale then saw them come close a few times, but Selborne’s forwards were immense in stealing the ball in the first half.
It was from another steal that Selborne countered for their second try as they secured the ball on their own five metre and tried to hack the ball clear. However, it only travelled as far as the 22m where Selborne chased well, won the ball back and managed to get it through the hands with Coetzer receiving the ball just before the halfway and then stepping on the gas to run the ball under the posts for a converted score with 12 minutes of the half left.
With the half winding down Dale made one more concerted push for points and were rewarded when from a ruck on Selborne’s 22m the ball was popped to flyhalf Siphosethu Dlongodlongo, who burst through the Selborne defence and dived over to the left of the uprights.
Dlongodlongo converted his try and the half ended with Selborne 14-7 up.
Dale took that momentum from the end of the first half and started the second on top pushing Selborne deep into their territory, with Dale scoring the first points of the half through a try from eighthman and captain Siyanda Am, with Dlongodlongo’s conversion evening the scores up.
And then, from a penalty in Dale’s half Selborne kicked into their 22m for a lineout.
From the lineout Selborne took the ball central, before swinging wide left, and reserve hooker Mila Bomela received the ball and dived over in the corner as Selborne retook the lead 19-14 in the 52nd minute. The conversion missed.
Four minutes later Dale reduced the deficit to two as Dlongodlongo converted a good long-range penalty after Selborne infringed at the breakdown.
Dale were now in the ascendancy and from a penalty on Selborne’s 10m line they kicked into Selborne’s 22m.
From there they secured the ball and executed a superb backline move to open up the Selborne defence and wing Sinoxolo Dlongodlongo burst through to score under the posts.
The conversion put Dale up 24-19, and a ferocious defensive effort in the final moments kept Selborne out, with Dale kicking the ball out after the hooter.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos