Knysna and Bitou neck and neck

KNYSNA RUGBY NEWS - Knysna United and Bitou rugby clubs' first teams played a thrilling game of rugby on Saturday 18 May, in the latest round of fixtures in the SWD President's League Coastal.

Knysna's second team came into the game looking for their second win of the campaign thus far, while Bitou's seconds were hoping to earn their first win, with no points from any of their first five games.

The two sides kicked off at Loerie Park just before 14:30, with the homeside enjoying the majority of the support from the crowd.

Knysna repays the support
Knysna seemed to repay the support and faith shown by the crowd in the first half, as they ran riot against a Bitou side whose own mistakes led to their demise once again. Bitou were plagued by poor handling, passing, and tackling throughout the first half – a deadly combination it proved, as Knysna were able to go into the halftime break with a 24-5 lead over the visitors.

Bitou seemed far more spirited in the second half as they were able to keep Knysna at bay for the majority of the remainder of the game. It didn't last too long however, as Knysna put on another 12 points to finish the game 36-8 victors. The first teams were up next, with both sides standing on seven points on the log with Knysna ahead only on points difference.

A tense affair
The first half of the encounter was a tense affair as both sides' defences refused to buckle, with Bitou only able get their try a few minutes before halftime. The game went into the break with Knysna 7-5 ahead, with the fans undoubtedly hoping for a more exciting and prolific second half.

The players seemed to hear their cries, as what followed was perhaps one of the finest exhibi-tions of club rugby, with hard-hitting, fast-paced action dominating the remainder of the game. Bitou remained in control at 28-19, until Knysna scored and converted a try with little over a minute left.

This meant the final exchanges were as tense as you could ask, but then Bitou tackled a Knysna player out with ball in hand to end the game at 28-26 to the men from Plettenberg Bay.

In other SWD President's League Coastal fixtures, Greater Knysna's second team lost 23-10 to Black Lions with the first team redeeming the seconds by winning 10-7. Both Sedgefield Eagle Stars sides continued their form as the seconds beat Thistles 33-12 with the firsts winning 31-3.

Howard Borchards