24 Aug 2015

Gaborone Hogs eased into the final of the Botswana Rugby Union (BRU) A Division League after beating BDF Cheetahs 21-3 in a tempestuous semifinal played at Wharic Park recently.

Fullback Eddie Oosthuizen scored seven penalties to drag Hogs into their third league final for three straight seasons while right wing Lekgobo Bafana replied for the Cheetahs also from a penalty kick.

The two teams stifled each other as the match fizzled out with a try scored. The match was characterised by strong tackling in the second half that left several bodies from both teams writhing on the floor in severe pain.

Cheetahs temporarily played with 13 men late on after Kagiso Molefhi and Lempaletse Ngaka were condemned to the sin-bin for receiving yellow cards as tempers flared up. 

The army side then finished the match with 14 men after Ngaka was sent off for illegal tackling. Hogs dominated the match in the first half and pinned their opponents back, but the Cheetahs packs held strong.

However, the army’s aggressive tackling saw them commit too many fouls inside their own half, inviting Hogs sure-footed kicker, Oosthuizen to punish them. The veteran back-liner opened the scoring in the fourth minute by converting a penalty following a foul near the 22 metre line. 

He then extended the lead to 6-0 with a sumptuous kick eight minutes later after Cheetahs gave away another penalty. Cheetahs conceded another foul in the 21^st-minute and Oosthuizen punished them to give his team a 9-0 lead. 

Bafana failed to hit the target from the first chance for Cheetahs by placing a penalty wide. Oosthuizen was also wasteful as he kicked wide in the 32^nd- minute but he made amends by scoring four more penalties, three of them in the second half to hand his team a comfortable victory. Hogs coach, Sean Irish praised his team’s defensive performance which led to them winning the match: “I think we defended outstandingly today. 

We really kept BDF Cheetahs from going forward well and that is why we won the match today.  They had some big guys running at us and we knew they would come at us, but we stopped their forward ball very well and it worked for us.” Hogs will meet LKC Jaguars in the final. 

The Livingstone Kolobeng College team pulled a shock by beating defending champions UB Rhinos 23-22 to reach their first ever A Division final. Cheetahs coach, Mmoloki Moroke said his team played well but were undone by committing a lot of fouls which resulted with Hogs scoring from penalties. Bokhutlo