Benoni Northerns’ championship aspirations fizzle out
It was an error-strewn stop-start clash, compounded by some very puzzling refereeing decisions, particularly at the breakdowns, and neither side managed to gain any genuine momentum.
Benoni Northerns’ Merlin League championship aspirations were left in tatters at the weekend as they tumbled to a 20-12 home defeat by Sasolburg in their semi-final clash.
As the match unravelled, the shrill blast of the referee’s whistle became commonplace and the match descended into a scrappy, disjointed clash which wasn’t pleasant to watch.
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The hosts, previously unbeaten at home, were already on the back foot midway through the first half when flyhalf Eugene Horn was red-carded for tackling an opposing player without the ball, which disrupted their shape.
Trailing 20-7 heading into the final quarter after conceding a needless try against the run of play midway through the half, Northerns finally managed to string together a decent sequence of passes which ended with scrumhalf Jaco Snyman dotting down.
Sensing their opponents’ frustration, Sasolburg managed to slow the game down and in the face of scoreboard pressure and knowing they had to force the game, errors continued to plague Northerns’ game.
Having to contend with a very strong cross wind, Sasolburg flyhalf Johan du Toit contributed 15 points to his side’s winning cause, including an opportunistic first half drop goal and a massive penalty effort from 45 metres.
