Collegians secure nail-biting win in closely contested affair

Collegians' present log position belies the surroundings of their basecamp in Lentegeur, Mitchell's Plain, where they train and host their Western Province Rugby Football Union home fixtures.

It’s still early days but as things stand, Collegians occupies sixth spot on the Super League B table after beating NTK 32-31 in a closely contested affair at the Lentegeur sportsground on Saturday.

It was a ding-dong battle throughout with fast and furious action, which kept the scorekeepers on their toes as they scrambled to update the continuously changing scoreboard. It was not until the closing stages when Mogamat Uzair Johnson dotted down his second try that the scorers enjoyed a respite.  Abu-Talib Lewis and Mustaqeem Jappie also crossed the tryline while centre Ziyaad Adams slotted over two penalties and three conversions, which contributed to the scoreboard frenzy.

Needless to say Collegians coach, Hashiem Samsodien, let out a sigh of relief that reverberated among fans who occupied the “heuwel” embankment and raced down to embrace their heroes,  celebrating a deserved victory for the home side.  

Being among the leading pack vying for promotion hardly tells the story of a team battling the scourge of vandalism and the lack of authorities to provide much-needed service.   

“Yes, when we arrive at training, we need to put up the lights. Hardly a situation which we like, but look, it’s part of the training, I guess,” says Samsodien.

“We are not complaining, but just the hard facts of a team and a community that has to overcome these hurdles to practice and enjoy a sport we all love. It is through hard work from the management that we at least have a playable home ground to host matches. But we shall persevere in our commitment to achieve our goals. It’s a young team in a building stage. It’s been a long time since we played in the Super League, so we will continue to do our best,”  Samsodien said.

Encouraging words indeed from a coach who two seasons ago helped Hamdiehs gain promotion to Super League B.