KNYSNA NEWS - The A team of the Knysna United rugby club bombed out of the SWD coastal A League this past weekend, when they went down 44-41 against a spirited Prince Albert side.

The match was played at the Loerie Park Sports Stadium, Knysna, and at half-time, United were still in the game, trailing by one point only, at 24-25.

The visitors breached United's defences at will, and this will be an area of concern for the team going forward.

Offensively, the home team did well to cross the tryline a couple of times themselves, but in big matches the old rugby saying stands firm, "stoic defence wins matches".

Uphill battle

For United, it was always an uphill battle from the start, having the task of registering a bonus-point win against Prince Albert - to make a semi-final spot possible.

It wasn't to be for the men in green, but they can certainly take pride from the way they took the fight to all of their opponents this year.

A few of those matches were pretty close, and had they prevailed, it would've been a different story.

Instead, it will now be Prince Albert playing against Silverstars from George.

For Knysna, Jade Taute, Pieter Makielie (two), Gift Ngxwashula and Herschell Manual (two) scored tries. Taute was successful with two conversions and one penalty.

Players thanked

Chairman of the club, Cameron Jantjies, thanked all the players for their commitment throughout the year.

"Also to our faithful supporters, who travelled with us come rain or shine, we appreciate your presence at our matches sincerely.

"Also a word of thanks to our sponsors, Buco Knysna, Charlton Moolow and Solid Paving, who stuck by us.

"Next year, we will once again fight the good fight. Past players and young new players are more than welcome to join the team as we look to rebuild."

‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’