Hogs, Rhinos in titanic clash
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday April 24, 2015 13:45
Both teams are tied on 23 points from five matches, although the defending champions are on top due to a 10-goal advantage over Hogs.
Rhino’s chairperson, Thatayaone Malele said they expect a tough match and have trained hard for the encounter. Tomorrow’s winner will tighten grip at the top, potentially giving direction to where the title was headed.
Malele expected a full squad as injured players have recovered. “We played well against Hogs last season and we going to do the same this time around. We will be using the same players,” he said. Hogs have been doing well in their matches and have not given away many penalties hence conceding fewer points.
Malele argued that the Hogs defence has not been tested this season and tomorrow’s game will see Rhinos giving them a stern test. He said while the Hogs defence is superior, the Rhinos national team players are expected to unlock their opponents.
Despite winning their match against Livingstone Kolobeng College (LKC) over the weekend, Rhinos were not convincing, failing to utilise space. Malele said most of LKC players are former Rhinos players, which led to complacency over the weekend. Tomorrow, he said, the players would be motivated to face Hogs, apparently because of their advantage at lineouts as Rhinos lost their best jumper to LKC.
Scrums are going to be a huge factor in the encounter.
Hogs coach, Sean Iris said playing against Rhinos was always exciting. He said his charges were ready for the clash despite three injuries in key positions.
He pointed out that he has enough depth to cover the missing players. Iris said he had been working hard to sharpen the team, especially the defence, adding that it was important for players to defend as a team.
“We are going to stick to basics and discipline. It was the first time we considered a try last weekend. We just want to enjoy playing good rugby on the day,” he said.
Iris said they were challenging for the championship, especially that they still have a game in hand against MRC. The team’s captain, Hugo Botha said they have been looking forward to playing against Rhinos since the beginning of the season. He pointed out that his team was fit and raring for the match.
Still tomorrow, in another clash LKC welcome BDF Cheetahs. The army side go into the match buoyed by free points awarded to them after Mochudi Rugby Club failed to pitch for their encounter. Cheetahs have accumulated 19 points while LKC has six.
Cheetahs’ spokesperson, Modesto Madzambi said they were going into the match with caution. He said they were aware that LKC has players who were fast and dangerous if not kept under guard.
He explained that their plan was to be physical the entire game in order to frustrate their opponents. “LKC has a good fly back, Tafa Ncube who kicks good balls into space. We studied their style of play last weekend. “We will welcome back Eddie Ernest who has been out of action for some time,” he said.