Knysna whitewashes Black Lions

Gallery Update

KNYSNA RUGBY NEWS - Both Knysna United Rugby Club teams who locked horns with Black Lions Rugby Club on Saturday 6 July managed to emerge victorious without conceding a single point, with a combined victory margin of 90 points.

Heading into the fixture, the two clubs were experiencing contrasting fortunes as George-based club Black Lions found both of their teams – firsts and seconds – languishing in eighth position (second from bottom) on the log in their respective divisions while both Knysna United teams were lying in fifth place in their respective divisions.

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The latter's second team was hoping to bounce back from a harsh 38-0 defeat at the hands of Eagle Stars the week before, while their first team harboured similar expectations after a nail-biting 31-27 defeat, also courtesy of Eagle Stars.

Second team game
The second teams were scheduled to kick off at 14:15, but were forced to start half-an-hour later as their opponents Black Lions were unable to field the minimum number of players (eight) to start a game. Finally, the two sides were able to kick off the game at 14:45, meaning that the referee was forced to reduce the length of the match to 20 minutes per half to ensure that the first teams were able to maintain their scheduled 15:30 kickoff time.

Even though Black Lions had more time to field a side, they still weren't able to put 15 men on the field and started with 13 players. The two-man numerical advantage immediately played in Knysna's favour as they managed to cross the whitewash within the first two minutes of the game.

Black Lions eventually got the two extra men needed to field a full side, but they made little difference as Knysna United would go into halftime with a 12-0 lead before doubling that lead in the second to finish 24-0, earning their fifth victory of the season thus far to even out their win:loss ratio at 5:5.

First team game
Knysna's first team would've been hoping to repeat the second team's success, albeit in a full-length match that still started late despite the officials' best efforts to get the game going on time.

Black Lions were able to field a full side from the outset this time around, but as with the two additional players in the second team game, it made little difference with Knysna able to yet again cross the whitewash a few minutes after kickoff.

Four more tries – three converted – would follow in the first half for Knysna as they bulldozed their way to a 33-0 halftime lead.

The second half proved no different, as Knysna continued to run riot on a Black Lions outfit that had already crashed to five defeats this season, and fast on their way to their sixth.

Just like the second team, Black Lions' first team was unable to even get a point on the board and blundered its way to a demoralising 66-0 defeat that saw their season points difference cross the -100 threshold.

Divan Luiters slots over a conversion for the second team.