Queen's win huge derby

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:13

This local Border derby was a huge one - part of Queen's College's 150th celebrations and against their closest rivals, a match dating bacjk to 1891.

Even the heavens acknowledged their delight, in the form of a perfect rainbow that embraced the Recreation ground, as referee, Ralph Cullinan blew the final whistle to signify victory to Queen’s,
in the FNB Classic Clash, between the two longstanding rivals.

The enormous crowd of Queen’s College supporters and Old Boys, were kept on the edge of their seats throughout the game, balanced on a knife edge until the dying moments. Both sides were
locked in a riveting tussle that went right down to the wire, until Queen’s emerged as worthy winners by 19 points to 15, to provide a fitting climax to an extraordinary 150th Reunion weekend of
activities.

This was the 160th contest between the two Colleges with Queen’s enjoying a narrow  victory margin with 73 wins to the 70 of  Dale, since that first encounter way back in 1926.   It is also interesting to note that Queen’s have now had seven straight wins on the trot, in their most recent outings against Dale.

Despite the heavy downpour just before the commencement of the first team game, both sides adapted well to the slippery, wet conditions and played entertaining, crowd pleasing rugby, despite some handling errors early on.  As was to be expected, both sides opted to keep the ball close to their forwards with ten man rugby being the order of the day. For Queen’s “Mule” Borsah  featured well on the drive, while the Dale prop Anele Guzana used his power to carry the ball in the close exchanges. The Dale backline appeared to adapt best to the wet ball early on and some nimble footwork had the Queen’s defence guessing at times. Nevertheless, Queen’s opened the scoring in the seventh minute when lock “Mule” Borsah broke blind from a ruck to set off on a 40 metre storming run, before offloading to right wing Juan du Preez, who was able to gather a difficult pass and score an exciting try.

Dale responded just 6 minutes later when their scrumhalf, Sinovuyo Nyoka broke blind from a ruck close to the Queen’s try line, to level the score.  Towards the closing stages of the first half, Queen’s squandered a number of scoring pportunities, when poor passes, knock ons and slow support cost them. With just two minutes remaining on the clock in the first half, Dale scored twice, firstly through a penalty by fullback Olunje Gwampi and then through an interception try scored against the run of play be centre Andile Jho, to take the half-time tally to 15 – 5 in Dale’s favour.
 
An uneasy silence hovered over the expectant crowd during the break, who were probably questioning whether the “men in white” had the character to stage a fight back. But that true Queenian, “never say die” attitude prevailed !  The Queen’s side played with much more composure during this half.  Better structure and ball control enabled them to gain the ascendancy.  They madetheir intentions clear early on, when captain and left wing, S’bura Sithole, forced his way past the flat footed defence, to score a fine try. Trailing by only three points, and with plenty of time remaining, the game was there for the taking.

With so much at stake, the game continued at a ferocious pace. The try of the day was scored in the 21st minute when the Queen’s centre Aziyena Mandaba, jinked his way past five or six defenders and ran 60 metres to score the match winning try for his team. Both second half tries were converted by flyhalf, Linton Terblanche.  With time running out, Dale threw caution to the wind, and remained on the attack until the final whistle was blown, but a resolute Queen’s defence kept the opposition at bay.

A fine game of rugby with compliments to both teams on the manner in which they played, but in the end, the Queen’s 1st XV are to be congratulated for providing the “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow” .

By Mike Boy

Dale vs Queen's

Results down the years, as supplied by Dale:

1891: Dale won by 5 goals and 1 try to 1 goal
1926: Queen's won 6-0
1927: Dale won 64-0 and 50-5
1928: Dale won 5-0 and Queen's won 6-3
1929: A draw 8-8 and Dale won 3-0
1930: Queen's won 10-3
1931: Dale won 8-3 and a draw 0-0
1932: Queen's won 8-0 and 3-0
1933: A draw 3-3 and Dale won 4-3
1934: Dale won 21-8 and a draw 3-3
1935: Queen's won 12-10 and 6-3
1936: Queen's won 3-0 and 17-5
1937: Queen's won 10-0 and 14-3
1938: Dale won 6-3 and 9-5 and 13-8
1939: Queen's won 6-9 and Dale won 6-3
1940: Queen's won 11-0
1941: Queen's won 16-3 and 9-6
1942: Dale won 3-0 and Queen's won 9-0
1943: Dale won 9-5 and Queen's won 17-5
1944: Queen's won 20-8 and 12-0
1945: Queen's won 15-6 and a draw 6-6
1946: Dale won 3-0 and 6-3
1947: Queen's won 19-0
1948: A draw 3-3 and Queen's won 6-3
1949: Dale won 17-3 and Queen's won 17-0
1950: A draw 3-3 and Queen's won 9-3
1951: A draw 13-13 and Queen's won 8-3
1952: A draw 3-3 and 3-3
1953: Queen's won 11-6 and Dale won 3-0
1954: A draw 3-3 and Queen's won 16-3
1955: Dale won 11-3
1956: A draw 6-6 and Queen's won 9-5
1957: Dale won 8-3 and a draw 6-6
1958: Dale won 19-0 and Queen's won 8-5
1959: Dale won 6-3 and Queen's won 9-8
1960: Dale won 6-0 and 3-0
1961: Queen's won 9-3 and 8-3
1962: Dale won 6-3 and Queen's won 3-0
1963: Dale won 13-3 and 6-3
1964: A draw 14-14 and Dale won 6-3
1965: Dale won 19-11 and 9-0
1966: Queen's won 12-3 and a draw 8-8
1967: Dale won 3-0 and Queen's won 6-3
1968: Dale won 11-0 and Queen's won 9-8
1969: A draw 6-6 and Queen's won 14-10
1970: Queen's won 12-11 and 20-3
1971: Dale won 17-9 and Queen's won 9-6
1972: Dale won 11-9 and Queen's won 4-3
1973: Queen's won 8-6 and 8-3
1974: Queen's won 10-3 and 13-12
1975: Dale won 21-8 and Queen's won 12-11
1976: Dale won 24-0 and 12-8
1977: Dale won 16-15 and Queen's won 10-7
1978: Dale won 12-10 and Queen's won 18-7
1979: Queen's won 8-4 and 25-0
1980: Queen's won 17-6 and 27-3
1981: Queen's won 7-6 and Dale won 27-3
1982: Queen's won 25-22 and 22-6
1983: Queen's won 9-3 and 18-6
1984: Queen's won 16-6 and 24-3
1985: Queen's won 9-3 and a draw 12-12
1986: Queen's won 15-13 and 18-7
1987: Dale won 3-0 and 10-6
1988: Queen's won 12-8 and 13-9
1989: Queen's won 3-0 and 16-3
1990: Dale won 33-0 and 22-13
1991: Queen's won 21-7 and 10-3
1992: Queen's won 3-0 and Dale won 21-8
1993: Dale won 12-6 and 15-9
1994: Dale won 19-9 and 18-9
1995: Dale won 22-5 and 20-6
1996: Dale won 15-6 and Queen's won 18-9
1997: Queen's won 16-12 and 31-21
1998: Dale won 8-6 and Queen's won 13-10
1999: Dale won 26-9 and 18-3
2000: Dale won 20-0 and 29-8
2001: Queen's won 27-21 and 15-7
2002: Dale won 13-0 and Queen's won 18-7
2003: Dale won 25-14 and 31-17
2004: Dale won 13-0 and 29-13
2005: Queen's won 17-6 and 23-13
2006: Queen's won 23-13 and 20-10
2007: Queen's won 30-15 and 16-3
2008: Queen's won 19-15