Villagers victorious again!

The Land Rover Durban Hillcrest Villagers were hosted by UKZN on Friday night in what turned out to be two epic rugby encounters.

The 2nd XVs squared off first in one of the most evenly contested matches of the season. The Reapers 2nd XV again opened with an early try through the midfield break of fly half Clinton Bridge who easily converted. The UKZN team rallied quickly though and the tussling for possession began. While Hillcrest managed to maintain the territory advantage for much of the first half, the UKZN defense was ferocious and the half ended 14-7 in favour of the visitors. The UKZN team maintained their pressure and managed to capatalise on their opportunities in the second half and managed to bring the score to 14-21 before Clifton Bridge stepped up and slotted a 40m penalty to put the visitors ahead by 10 points. The momentum of the game swinging the way of the home team they managed to score a final try late in the second half but ultimately the Villagers managed to fend off their attack and finished the game 21-24 to the visitors.

The first team started in a similar fashion with the visitors opening with an early try. The visitors countered with a penalty bringing the score to 3-7 ten minutes in. This evenly matched, physical encounter was separated by the Hillcrest teams ability to create more opportunities and hold their defense. The determination and sheer desire of the Hillcrest team kept the score board ticking over for the visitors with regular visits into the red zone of UKZN. The fluidity of the Hillcrest attack allowed tries to be scored across the team with Henkie Groenewald, Gerhard Botha, Dolfi Britz, Brian Lewis, Sheldon Phillips, and replacement Alex Cahill all crossing the line in well worked team tries. A late consolation try by the home team brought the final score to 10-40 to the triumphant visitors and bring the Villagers closer to their goal of 1st Division log leaders.

The Land Rover Durban Villagers next host Ballito Dolphins on Friday night at the DSC and are under no disillusion as to the physicality awaiting them in this encounter.