Strong effort not enough for Uni-Mil
It’s only game two of the season for Union-Milnerton (Uni-Mil) and the results over the weekend may not make too much of a dent in the side's hopes for a deep play-off run in this season’s Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) Super League A.
At home to UCT, Uni-Mil held their own against the students and the match was nicely balanced between the two sides but the students made the most of their home-court advantage.
The final score was 31-21; at the half the score was 24-7 in favour of Ikey Tigers.
Ikeys’ Alexander Vermeulen converted the three first-half tries and added a penalty to give his side a huge lead going into the second half.
The first half points for Uni-Mil came from a try by Jodi Dennis, with Alroy Brandt successfully converting. In the second half, it was Uni-Mil who took charge of the game as they mounted the comeback.
A yellow card for UCT early in the second half led Uni-Mil to their first score in the second half, four minutes after the restart. Adriaan Paarwater crossed over the try line and Brandt made no mistake, adding the extra two points from the conversion spot.
The two, Paarwater and Brandt, were again the next on the scoresheet with the former getting his second try, converted by the latter. With only three points difference between the two sides and the clock winding down, it was anybody’s game-win. Ikey’s flyhalf Vermeulen took matters into his own hands just when Uni-Mil started believing they would successfully make the huge comeback.
With seven minutes remaining on the clock, Vermeulen went over the line for his try which he later converted, finishing the game with 16 points to his name.
Milnerton have won one and lost one to begin their 2023 campaign, having dispatched Tygerberg 26-11 in their opening game. The Ikey Tigers on the other hand won their fourth straight game.
Last season Milnerton finished fourth on the log but got an unfavourable draw in the play-offs as they were drawn with Maties for the quarter-final stage.
The students won that affair, ending the Uni-Mil season in the last eight. Uni-Mil is at home this Saturday as they host another student team in UWC.
Other Super League A results from the weekend saw Helderberg beating Village 23-19; Tygerberg beating UWC 27-22; St Georges beating NTK 29-26; and Maties winning against False Bay 26-5.
