THE Nashua Crusaders pipped their Durban North rivals, the Varsity College Tigers, to the post in their Castle Murray Cup clash on Friday night. The nail-biting match ended in favour of the home team, which won the game in the dying seconds through a penalty from scrumhalf, Hennie (Bakkies) Jansen van Rensburg (20), sealing a 17-15 victory.
The match started with last year’s Murray Cup finalists in the ascendancy as Tigers flyhalf, Colin Willemse, slotted over a penalty in the opening minutes. His boot dominated the rest of the half as the away team was 9-0 going into half-time.
The second half was a see-saw affair, as Crusaders winger, Jasper Genis, dotted down for the home team. Van Rensburg easily converted. However, another penalty from Willemse gave the away team a five-point buffer, which was again cancelled out by a converted try from Crusaders back, Troy Chiochetti.
With five minutes to play, this looked to be the final score, but an infringement in the ruck by the ‘Saders gave VC another chance to take the lead, which Willemse gladly accepted. Then, with seconds left on the clock, the home team was given a penalty, which Van Rensburg slotted over with consummate ease despite the tension in the stands.
As the final whistle blew, the relief was palpable on Crusaders’ coach, Ronnie Uys’, face.
“What a game – we made it hard for ourselves in certain phases. We broke the line and tried to force the pass, where we should have hung onto possession. Having said that, this was a great derby and I’m grateful for the win. We had some individual performances that were worthy Man of the Match performances. It’s fantastic to now make the semi-finals of the cup,” Uys said.
