Land Rover Durban Hillcrest Villagers Through to the Junior Murray Cup Finals

Friday night saw the Land Rover Durban Hillcrest Villagers 1st XV take on the old foe from down the hill, Westville Old Boys in their 3rd encounter for the season – this time, for the honors of playing in the Junior Murray Cup final. Although the round robin league matches saw The Land Rover Durban Hillcrest Villagers triumph over their archenemy twice, the defending champs took nothing for granted.

The hosts came out the blocks fast as their attacking was relentless and blitzed their opponents, scoring 4 tries in the opening 25 minutes. However 2 yellow cards stunted the momentum of the home team and allowed Westville to claw back possession, forcing Hillcrest to defend for long periods of time. With the occasional niggle and frustrations creeping in, the game lost its quick tempo, which resorted to the home team having to try and grind out a victory, as they relied on the resilience of their defence for most of the 2nd half.

The visitors eventually managed to cross the line midway through the 2nd half with a rolling maul. However Hillcrest continued to defend aggressively in the last quarter of the match, and had some exciting breakaway opportunities, but desperate scramble defence kept the score at 24 – 8 as the final whistle went. The men of the match awards went to Michael Moxley (forwards) and Henkie Groenewald (backs) for their great all round performances.

The Land Rover Durban Hillcrest Villagers 1st XV now go on to contest the Junior Murray Cup Final this coming Saturday in the final match of the season, as they attempt to defend the title they won last year. We call on all supporters to make their way down to Northwood Crusaders to support the boys in what is sure to be a tough encounter.