The long awaited Derby clash eventually took place on Saturday afternoon at Stephan Way after many frustrating years in limbo. Hamilton RFC 2 nd team won comfortably 57-0.
Paddy Holman brought back the years with a sterling performance at 8 th man for Hamiltons before limping off injured. He shared man of the match award with Storm Winter who showed great skills and pace, scoring a hat trick of tries.
This match was a game of 2 very different halves. The first half was riddled with handling errors from both sides which prevented the game from having any fluidity. Once the dust had settled and we managed to get through a few phases we started breaking the Village defence.
Village were no match for us at set pieces which we dominated throughout the game. Assiduous flankers Dean Basson and Louw Langevelt were a handful for the opposition at ruck time.
Hamiltons led 21-0 at half time.
With the wind at their back, a much more direct and focused Hammies side produced a better second half performance. They managed to retain possession, cut down on infringements and reduce unforced errors. This enabled them to play to their structures, resulting in 6 more tries being scored. Hamilton’s defence held strong, not allowing their try line to be breached when Village showed some resilience.
Talented Regardt Louw and Wynand MaClachlan again advanced their reputations of players to watch this year with solid all round outings. Our captain for the day Walter Smit had a good performance controlling the game in the mid field.
Lots more hard work and planning is needed when Hamiltons host Brackenfell on Saturday for their last friendly match before the league starts.
Try scorers: Storm Winter (3), Walter Smit, Jacques Oosthuisen, Johan de Kock, Range Kote, Wynand Maclachlan, Tristan Cramer
Conversions: Walter Smit 6