Endurance was the key as Walter Sisulu University (WSU) All Blacks came from behind to defeat rivals University of Fort Hare Blues in their Border Super League clash at the Buffalo City Stadium on Friday night.
The tight 22-18 win was secured after the All Blacks superbly endured after going behind early and trailing for most of the match, before taking the lead in the final 10 minutes and putting a penalty over at the full time hooter to seal the win.
“In the first half we weren’t playing to structure but in the end the guys pulled it off,” said All Blacks coach Sipho Metula.
The Blues will be disappointed after they seemed to be in control most of the game, but every time they forged further ahead the All Blacks came right back, keeping the game close until shading it in the closing stages.
The win means the All Blacks maintain their unbeaten start to the Super League season and stay third on the table after Police’s 26-8 win over Breakers and Old Boys 22-14 win over Buffs.
The match began with the Blues and All Blacks trading penalties through wing Akhona Matutu and fullback Zizipho Kayi, with the scores locked at
3-all after 10 minutes.
A yellow card to WSU lock Luyolo Fata in the 15th minute for offside gave Fort Hare the opportunity to kick a penalty into WSU’s 22m and from the line out set up a 20-metre rolling maul which enabled hooker Lulamile Kama, at the back of the maul, to dive over to put the Blues in the lead, while Matutu missed the conversion.
A Matutu penalty from in front near the 10m line and a Kayi penalty from in front near the half way line saw the score move to 11-6 in favour of Fort Hare.
The Blues suffered a setback as flank Sibusiso Sityebi was yellow-carded two minutes later for repeated offsides. However, they held out and went into half time five points ahead.
An early easy penalty gave WSU a good start to the second half followed by a frantic six-minute period a few minutes later that saw two tries scored.
First, Blues fullback Siphose-thu Zaula finished off a great backline move that started near halfway before going down the right hand touch line and under the posts, as Matutu’s conversion put them 18-9 up.
But the All Blacks quickly hit back as scrumhalf Sivuyile Nvulu spotted a gap from a ruck near the Blues line to go over for a converted try to cut the deficit to two points.
It was then Kayi who gave the All Blacks the lead for the first time in the 70th minute with a long range penalty, while WSU flyhalf Bongani Zwane popped over a simple penalty on full time to add the icing to the cake.
WSU’s next match is against Africans in King William’s Town this coming weekend, and with some great momentum in their favour the All Blacks will be confident of staying unbeaten.
“We don’t want to underestimate teams like Africans,” said Metula. “We will take a strong team up for that match, as well as a few youngsters and if the game goes well we will give a few guys a run.”
Brave All Blacks triumph over Blues
The tight 22-18 win was secured after the All Blacks superbly endured after going behind early and trailing for most of the match, before taking the lead in the final 10 minutes and putting a penalty over at the full time hooter to seal the win.
“In the first half we weren’t playing to structure but in the end the guys pulled it off,” said All Blacks coach Sipho Metula.
The Blues will be disappointed after they seemed to be in control most of the game, but every time they forged further ahead the All Blacks came right back, keeping the game close until shading it in the closing stages.
The win means the All Blacks maintain their unbeaten start to the Super League season and stay third on the table after Police’s 26-8 win over Breakers and Old Boys 22-14 win over Buffs.
The match began with the Blues and All Blacks trading penalties through wing Akhona Matutu and fullback Zizipho Kayi, with the scores locked at
3-all after 10 minutes.
A yellow card to WSU lock Luyolo Fata in the 15th minute for offside gave Fort Hare the opportunity to kick a penalty into WSU’s 22m and from the line out set up a 20-metre rolling maul which enabled hooker Lulamile Kama, at the back of the maul, to dive over to put the Blues in the lead, while Matutu missed the conversion.
A Matutu penalty from in front near the 10m line and a Kayi penalty from in front near the half way line saw the score move to 11-6 in favour of Fort Hare.
The Blues suffered a setback as flank Sibusiso Sityebi was yellow-carded two minutes later for repeated offsides. However, they held out and went into half time five points ahead.
An early easy penalty gave WSU a good start to the second half followed by a frantic six-minute period a few minutes later that saw two tries scored.
First, Blues fullback Siphose-thu Zaula finished off a great backline move that started near halfway before going down the right hand touch line and under the posts, as Matutu’s conversion put them 18-9 up.
But the All Blacks quickly hit back as scrumhalf Sivuyile Nvulu spotted a gap from a ruck near the Blues line to go over for a converted try to cut the deficit to two points.
It was then Kayi who gave the All Blacks the lead for the first time in the 70th minute with a long range penalty, while WSU flyhalf Bongani Zwane popped over a simple penalty on full time to add the icing to the cake.
WSU’s next match is against Africans in King William’s Town this coming weekend, and with some great momentum in their favour the All Blacks will be confident of staying unbeaten.
“We don’t want to underestimate teams like Africans,” said Metula. “We will take a strong team up for that match, as well as a few youngsters and if the game goes well we will give a few guys a run.”
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