Villager takes upper hand in oldest club rivalry

MARK WARD

The slip and slide conditions which prevailed at Brookside on Saturday did little to dampen the traditional rivalry between two of the oldest rugby clubs, Villager and Hamilton in the country to produce an absorbing derby contest.

With both sides established in 1800’s it stands to reason why this rivalry runs deep and on Saturday it was Villagers who emerged 28-24 winners in a Western Province Super League A-match.

With rain pelting down, high-flying Villager went on the rampage from the outset to put the visitors under pressure from the kick-off. But the home side found a resolute Hamilton defence who gave little away.

The visitors however succumbed under a moment of brilliance from Villager’s wing Giuliano de Franchi who dotted down in the righthand corner on the  southern end of the park.

This was to be winger De Franchi's first of his two tries while centre Austin Prins crossed the Hamilton tryline to put his side 1-0 up while fullback Jandré Grobler converted a goal kick and a penalty to give the home team a 15-10 lead at half-time. 

Hammies fought back bravely but the home side’s defence held on bravely despite the visitor’s introducing former Springbok winger Travis Ismail in a bid to break through the Villager defence.

Villagers now occupy top spot on the standings with 36 points from  eight matches, which includes victories against UCT and False Bay. Hamilton finds themselves in eighth place with 20 points, but have only played five matches thus far.

Tygerberg, meanwhile, caused a major upset when they beat Maties 24-14 at Florida Park in Ravensmead.

The Tigers were 17-7 ahead at the break half-time. For the home team, right wing Brandon Collins scored twice, while number eight Corbin Benjamin also crossed the visitors' goal line for tries. Adriaan Roberts was on target with two penalties and a goal kick.

Hamilton will host Helderberg at the Stephen Oval, Greenpoint on Saturday while Villagers will take a much-needed break.

Van der Stel and Maties will clash in a rare derby between the Stellenbosch base teams.