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KNYSNA NEWS - Men's rugby is slowly but surely getting back on its feet in Knysna, with players at local rugby clubs finally lacing up their boots again for some pre-season friendlies.
It's been almost two years since a full-contact men's rugby match was played in Knysna - the last was in mid-March 2020, just over a week before the country was sent into its first phase of hard lockdown.
In the two years since it's been a battle for administrative officials at rugby unions around the country to find a way for full-contact rugby to resume in its pre-Covid-19 manner.
Men's rugby has been played in alternative forms over the past two years, however, with players resorting to Tag and/or touch rugby as the closest they can get to the real thing while they await the return to action. Now, at long last, it seems as though their two-year wait has officially come to an end.
Knysna United Rugby Club has been able to play pre-season friendlies over the past two weekends, in preparation for the expected resumption of club rugby within SWD Rugby structures in early- to mid-March.
On Saturday 12 February, Knysna United came up against Jaguars at the Hornlee Sport Grounds, with the first team losing their match and the second team drawing theirs.
Last Saturday, 19 February, they played friendlies against Bitou Rugby Club, again in Hornlee. The second team's game kicked off first and an exciting game proceeded at a good pace.
The home side emerged victorious, beating their Bitou counterparts 20-5.
Thereafter the excitement within both camps and among the spectators peaked as the two first teams took to the field. A very competitive first half unfolded, with the sides trading territorial blows up and down the field as players shook off their two-year rust.
Knysna United led 5-0 at the halfway point. Bitou battled back in the second half, however, and refused to throw in the towel.
Their efforts were well rewarded as the game ended in a 15-15 stalemate.
In the upcoming SWD Rugby club season, Sedgefield Eagle Stars and Jaguars will be the only two CX clubs competing in the Super League A division - the top tier of local club rugby. Knysna United will ply their trade in the Super League B, while Bitou and Greater Knysna are expected to take part in the First Division East League.
Knysna United's Cullen Cole stretches for the tryline as he is pushed back by Bitou defenders. Photos: Blake Linder
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