It's a poor start by a country mile

A terrible start to their respective rugby weeks saw both Border Country District (CD) sides crash to big defeats yesterday morning. 

The Border CD Craven Week team were defeated by a bigger and stronger Limpopo Blue Bulls outfit 38-3, while the Border CD Academy Week side crashed to a 46-7 loss to the Pumas CD team.

“It was an unfortunate start, although there were ups and downs in both matches, but it was a tough start and the standard of play here is very high,” said Border Schools spokesman Mongezi Mncono.

“Both teams started their matches well, but mistakes crept in and in the end cost them, but it was also exciting to see them both not give up and fight back towards the end of both games.”

The Border CD and Limpopo Blue Bulls Craven Week match kicked off in scrappy fashion as both sides knocked on a number of times.

The bigger Limpopo players used their bulk throughout the match to keep themselves on top of the Border side.

This kept Border stuck in their own territory early in the match but some good defence and handling errors kept Limpopo at bay.

Limpopo then looked to have finally broken through in the 18th minute as prop Janne Jordaan powered through from a ruck on Border’s 5m, but the linesman saw something at the breakdown and the TMO was called in where replays showed Limpopo flank Ruben Koekemoer doing a neck roll on a Border player and he was rightly sent to the bin for 10 minutes and the try reversed.

However, losing a man to a yellow card seemed to spur Limpopo into action and a minute later outside centre Stefan Nel put in a good kick-and-chase and with a poor Border attempt to pick up the bouncing ball they instead bumped it over the tryline for Nel to follow up and put his hand on the ball for a try, which flyhalf Pieter Kruger converted.

Four minutes later Limpopo hooker Nyiko Makamu barged over after a quick tap penalty on Border’s 5m for an unconverted try.

With Koekemoer then returning from the bin and Limpopo having scored 12 points in his absence they added a third try a minute after his return as eighthman Tyrone Thompson went over with Kruger’s extras making it 19-0.

Border CD then finally got on the board with a minute to go in the half as Limpopo infringed at a ruck on their 22m, allowing flyhalf Litha Nkula to knock over the penalty.

The second half was a similar affair with Border CD initially holding out for just over 10 minutes, but Limpopo then added to their score in the 47th minute as Jordaan bashed over for an unconverted try.

Exciting Limpopo fullback Danny Mokhoabane was then rewarded for his enterprising play scoring his team’s last two tries – first breaking through for a long-range score in the 52nd minute which wing Masedi Manamela converted and then showing some impressive quick feet to ghost through a host of Border CD players to score under the posts.

Manamela’s conversion added the final points of the match as Limpopo sealed a dominant 38-3 win.

Border CD showed valiant defence during the match and some exciting running from their backs, especially in the second half but in the end were no match for Limpopo.

For the Border CD Academy team it was even more disappointing as they proved a match for their Pumas CD counterparts during the first half, but imploded spectacularly after the break.

With both team’s kickers missing early penalty shots at goal, Border CD took the lead with a try from eighthman Litha Tafeni, which scrumhalf Thapelo Lerabe converted in the 12th minute.

Pumas CD then scored two unconverted tries to take a tight 10-7 lead into the halftime break.

The second half was then a complete procession for the Pumas CD as they added a further six tries while converting three of them with Border CD unable to add anything themselves.

“I have spoken with the coaches and they are positive despite the defeats,” claimed Mncono.

“They were encouraged by certain aspects of the teams’ play and believe they can work out the errors and bounce back positively in the next match.”