Crusaders seal final berth

IF anyone was caught leaving their heart and soul out on the rugby field, no one would need to look further than Friday night’s Castle Murray Cup semi-final clash between the Nashua Crusaders and the Jaguars RFC. The Jaguars, who were the underdogs going into the clash, had a spirited performance and offered glimpses of why they should not be underestimated. The final scored ended in favour of the home team 36-26.

The home side started brightly with this year’s top try-scorer for the ‘Saders, S’phuxolo Zaula, showing a clean pair of heels and ghosting past the away team’s defence, dotting down under the poles in the opening minutes of the game. The conversion was a cinch for last week’s quarter-final hero, Hennie (Bakkies) Jansen van Rensburg.

However, any inkling that the home side would have their own way was quickly forgotten, as two superb tries from a rolling maul from the Jaguars forwards rocked the home side. A solitary penalty from Bakkies in the dying minutes of the first half left the Durban North team four adrift.

Crusaders coach, Ronnie Uys’ speech at half-time seemed to have inspired his charges as they scored four tries through Jasper Genis, Cohen Wortley, Curtly Johnson and Deon Stow. Of concern, however, were the yellow cards – three in total, two of which were given in the second half. This meant that the Jaguars were able to fight back and make the one-man advantage count.

Two tries in the space of minutes left the teams three points adrift before Stow sealed victory for the ‘Saders.

Head coach, Uys, said while he was pleased with his team, he was not happy with their discipline.

“I thought we played well, but our first half performances are costing us and we have to get that sorted before next week’s final. The Jaguars played some superb rugby and it was a good wake-up call for the boys. I thought Alex Curry, who came back from injury, had a massive game for us.

“I’d like to thank all those who supported us. We will be going back to the drawing board and focusing on the final in front of a home crowd,” Uys said.

The final takes place on Saturday, 29 September, at 3.30pm at the Crusaders Sports Club on Ranleigh Crescent.