FNB Ikey Tigers’ improvement continues
Having scored thirteen tries in their last two matches, the FNB Ikey Tigers are showing no signs of slowing down as they run through their last competitive fixtures of the year. The latest recorded victory came in the shape of a 29 – 20 win against Belhar this past Saturday.
“We’ve got a great amount of respect for Belhar. We always know it’s never not going to be a close result when playing against guys like them and Walmers,” said Mike van Rheede when voicing his respect for the team that narrowly beat the Ikeys last time out.
To refresh one’s memory, Behlar had snatched a 30 – 27 win in the dying minutes of the teams’ last meeting. “We had much better game management this time around. In the last game, we lost it in the final six minutes but we managed the game much better this time,” said van Rheede.
“We showed great consistency throughout both halves. We were leading 12-0 and halftime, and they started creeping back but we always managed to keep daylight between us.”
“Our attack has improved in leaps and bounds. The tries we’re scoring are still varied, so they’re not all coming from the backline or the forwards so that means we’re asking more questions of defences,” he added. The FNB Ikey Tigers scored five tries to Belhar’s two.
While teams are yet to be completely shut out, there has also been great progress on the defensive side of things as well. “I think in games where you can limit the opponents to less than two tries, you stand a good chance of winning. Perhaps we’re not clinical enough yet, but the discipline was better. We restricted their kicking as well. We’ve also dealt with the “deer in the headlights”, which is basically what happened in the Varsity Cup, so the team deals with conceding points a lot better now,” concluded van Rheede.
Next up for the FNB Ikey Tigers is a trip to SK Walmers on Saturday, the 17th of September.
by Wessly Thring
