Quins rugby rides ups and downs
With their tails up, Ballito scored a fourth try and a bonus point to extend the score 22-17 after well worked play down the left.
THERE were mixed emotions this weekend for the Mighty Quins rugby teams as the 2nd team came back to score a memorable win, while the 1sts came unstuck after losing playmaker Jean Spies early in the game and the rugby fraternity lost one of its greats.
The 2nd team had another close game and had to dig deep to come back from 17-22 down. They also played with one man down for the last 25 minutes when Patrick Nolan got red-carded for retaliation. The team dug deep and showed great heart and character to score two tries of their own in the last eight minutes to score a famous victory.
The match was always going to be a tough one when Ballito fielded a side containing many of their recent past first team players. It is great to see a club’s old guard stay involved in their club and these players have a lot of experience to draw from and their play on the day showed it. The young Quins side showed great determination and also gave as good as they got.
Quins scored first when fullback Bryce Williams slotted a penalty after 25 minutes and soon after scrumhalf Danie Le Roux wriggled his way through a tight situation to score near the posts, with Bryce Williams adding the extras. Ballito bounced back and scored a neat try after Ballito centre Dusty Scott made a break to score out wide and take the score to 10-5 at the break.
The second half saw the game open up and produced a much better quality of play as both teams started throwing the ball around. Danie Le Roux scored a second as Quins extended their lead to 17-5. Again Ballito hit back immediately when the defence was found wanting and then added another after the red card was given to Patrick Nolan.
With their tails up, Ballito scored a fourth try and a bonus point to extend the score 22-17 after well worked play down the left. The writing was on the wall, but this Quins team has a fighting spirit like no other and captain courageous, Gavin McArthur rallied his troops and led by example to score a try himself after barging through from a quick tap and then an inspirational substitution 10 minutes from time saw replacement Wayde McCarthy outsprint the defense to take the game beyond the home side.
This was a well-deserved victory of 31-22 to the Mighty Quins. Man of the match awards went to Danie Le Roux and Marlin Wilson.
The 1st team started the game well, but suffered an early setback when in-form flyhalf Jean Spies had to leave the field after receiving a deep cut above his left eye. Soon afterwards, centre Riaan Nel ran a beautiful angle to outsprint the defense and score the first try of the match. The first half was very tight, but with a backline reshuffle due to Jean Spies not returning, the Mighty Quins were under pressure. Ballito were playing themselves back into the match and scored a well deserved try after 23 minutes. The rest of the half remained an arm wrestle with both teams giving it their all.
The second half belonged to Ballito, although Quins scored first with a penalty to lead 10-7. After that is was the fired-up home team that claimed the ascendancy and got better as the match wore on. Quins missed a couple of crucial kicks and then Ballito blitzed them with three tries in 10 minutes. It was pretty much game over after that and to rub salt into the wounds, they kicked another penalty late in the game. They were the best team on the day and deserved winners. Man of the match awards went to Duane Goodes and JP Roetz.
Junior rugby has come to an exciting end and in particular the U7s and U8s did really well. The U7s won 13 of their 16 games and the U8s won 22 games, including two against the Bulls team from Pretoria. The U11s had mixed results and showed good improvement as the season went on. They often played older teams and did really well against tough opposition. This week sees the U11 team play against Pirates from Johannesburg at Amanzimtoti. This will be an entertaining contest against decent opposition.
Colts rugby starts this week for U13 and U18 players. Anyone is welcome to join. Training will be every Wednesday at the club.
It is with great sadness that Quins learnt of the sad death of Natal and Harlequins legend Ronnie Haarhoff. He played 82 games for Natal and helped put Harlequins on the map when he joined in the early years. Condolences to his wife Ria, brother Koos and their family.
