THE crowd at Harlequins Rugby Club were entertained with two good matches on Saturday as all four teams played running rugby and 14 tries were scored in both matches.
The Richards Bay second team arrived at Harlequins with the intention of keeping their league title hopes alive, but they ran into a determined home side that raced into an early lead which they never surrendered.
Harlequins also had everything to play for as a win would qualify them for the knockout stages.
Colin Brown showed great alertness and pounced on a line-out throw to open the Quins try scoring count. Jean du Rand ran in a lovely try and soon after Colin Brown added another, to take the score to 20–0 within 25 minutes. Ill-discipline saw Quins reduced to 13 men before the break with two yellow cards.
After the break, Richards Bay were much better and matched Harlequins’ intensity and better continuity. With Harlequins receiving another yellow, Richards Bay capitalised on their numbers and scored within five minutes to give them some hope. Winger Röhzner Tobias had other ideas and ran 40 metres untouched with a beautiful darting run that caught the chasing defender completely off guard. This was the final nail in the visitors’ coffin. Dale Chikore rounded off another beautiful try for Quins and Richards Bay managed a final consolation try to take the score to 35–12 for the home side. This seals Quins’ qualification for the knockouts and an opportunity for the Mighty Quins to defend their knockout title they won in 2015.
The Richards Bay first side had everything to play for and a win against Harlequins would ensure they won the league in the South section. This they did with some beautiful running rugby as their backline displayed their silky smooth skills to almost score at will.
The visitors ran in four tries in the first half to all but put the match beyond the home side and the second half was the same as Harlequins matched the visitors upfront, but it was the pace of the Richards Bay players that proved the difference. Full time score was 41- 3 to the visitors from the Bay and a well deserved league title. The inconsistency of the Mighty Quins team will be the talking point for the home fans.
This week sees the final league game as Harlequins take on high-flying Westville at home. It will be a humdinger and will definitely produce many tries for the fans to enjoy.
