Villagers Worcester Upsets Wesbank in Malmesbury

It was another top-class clash in the Boland Top-12 that saw Villagers Worcester get the best of Wesbank RFC.

Villagers Worcester emerged victorious with a score of 36-33 against Wesbank at the Malmesbury Sporting Grounds on Saturday. 

Wesbank opened the scoring in the game with points from vice-captain and fly-half Dashton Welman. A dominant scrum allowed the backs to move the ball quickly, and Welman found a gap in the Villagers’ defense to score.

Villagers responded at the 10-minute mark when scrumhalf Gurshwin Africa executed a clever box kick that created chaos in the backline of Wesbank, allowing Mario Marinus to score a try in the corner.

Just two minutes after the first try, the second try came from a clean midfield break by fly-half Carick Kustoor and hooker Achmat Adams, setting up winger Francesco May for an impressive team try.

Winger Francesco May went over for a well-taken try against Wesbank RFC.

Source: Villagers Worcester Facebook Page.

The visitors were not finished yet. A driving maul near Wesbank’s try-line allowed Gurshwin Africa to direct his forwards, and try number three was scored from the set play.

Wesbank remained determined and responded with a try from Javier Farmer. The winger picked up a loose ball in midfield and successfully crossed under the posts, bringing the score to 19-14 in favor of the visitors at that moment.

Wesbank continued to build on their momentum. Some quick passing saw outside center Mihle Nelani score another try, leveling the game at 19-19 as they headed into halftime.

As the home side began to assert themselves against the visitors, Villagers Worcester had other plans in the second half. 

The away team scored their fourth try of the match following a well-executed driving maul. Fullback Elton Mfundisi converted the try flawlessly, bringing the score to 26-19 in favor of the visitors.

The excitement didn’t end there. Wesbank, who was full of energy right from the kickoff, immediately applied pressure on Villagers. This pressure paid off when a turnover allowed utility back Ralthon du Toit to accelerate towards the try line, although he was stopped just before scoring. Wesbank’s clean-out of the ruck proved beneficial as captain Nathan Solomons crashed over the line, leveling the game. 

At that point, Wesbank appeared unstoppable. Their patient ball possession in Villagers Worcester's half led to Mihle Nelani scoring a brace, giving his team the lead with the try successfully converted.

Mihle Nelani was the standout player for Wesbank, scoring a brace for his side in their 36-33 loss to Villagers Worcester.

Just as the crowd thought Wesbank was going to cruise to a memorable victory, Villagers struck back when center Percy Basson accelerated and outpaced Wesbank's defense.

Firstly, Wesbank captain Nathan Solomons spoke to the Boland representatives.

“We set ourselves a goal to not give easy points away. Things didn’t work out the way we wanted, and even though we are out of the competition we still have one home game to make our supporters proud.” 

The game slowed down after that thrilling play, and fatigue set in for both teams. For 20 minutes, no points were scored until a penalty was awarded to Villagers Worcester, turning the tide in their favor. 

Elton Mfundisi successfully converted the penalty, leading the visitors to clinch the win in the dying stages of the match. Gurshwin Africa was named Man of the Match after delivering another impressive performance.

Villagers Worcester backline coach, Mr. Fabian Randall also gave his input after Saturday’s game.

“We knew it was going to be tough. Wesbank is not an easy team at home. Luckily, we have coaching staff that played in the Premier League, we knew the challenge ahead and the hostility we would face. We were really well prepared but reviewing the game afterwards I would say we gave away soft tries. We hope going forward that we are going to click in this competition. All and all, we played well on the day.”