Historic victory for Greater Knysna

KNYSNA RUGBY NEWS - Greater Knysna hosted their oldest rivals, Black Lions, from Thembalethu in a home semifinal at the Hornlee sports field.

The hosts started like a house on fire with a sensational try within the first 5 minutes of the game after a kick from Don Marco Samuels was well chased by Ludwe Vara, who kicked through the ball knocked on by the Black Lions fullback. Vara Samuels retained the loose ball and popped it up for fly half Masekhane Sitole, who in turn immediately spread the ball wide for Thando Tsewu to finish with a corner try (converted by Vara).

Black Lions immediately responded with a penalty to close the gap to 4 points. A further three penalties from Black Lions against only one drop goal from Sitole saw the visitors going into the half-time break with a 12-10 lead.

Greater Knysna took better control of the game at the start of the second half, pinning down Black Lions in their own half and quickly kicking two penalties to take a 16-12 lead before the game was halted (as a result of a member of the Black Lions management having been red-carded for referee abuse and refused to leave the field. He was later removed with the help of the rest of the Black Lions management team.)

Greater Knysna Rugby Club together with their worthy opponents Black Lions after the SWD Coastal League semifinal on Saturday 11 August, when the home team clinched a narrow victory. Photo: Supplied

Crowd on its feet
The visiting team capitalised immediately after the game restarted with a penalty to close the gap to one point. The teams had the crowd on its feet during the last 5 minutes. With 2 min left, Black Lions received a penalty just outside the 22m area and opted for a kick at goal to win the game but missed by inches.

A charge down from the 22m restart had the Greater Knysna fans in a state of panic, but a good clearance from Samuels saved the day with two line-out steals by u20 lock Kurt Prinsloo at vital stages in the last minutes of the game, which saw the hosts edging out Black Lions with a 16-15 victory to qualify for their first ever SWD Coastal League final. They remained undefeated during the entire 2018 rugby season.

In the other semifinal, Garden Route from Mosselbay defeated Excelsiors from Wittedrift by 25-17 and are set to play against the undefeated Greater Knysna on the 25 August in a grand finale on the Hornlee sports field.

In the second-team semifinal, Black Lions B team defeated Titans B team to qualify for the B team final.

Point scorers