Ikeys and Victorians share the spoils

The FNB Ikey Tigers were held to a 19-19 draw on Wednesday afternoon as they took on a high-flying Victorians side. The teams went into the halftime break with the score line even at 12-12, with either side scoring and converting a try in the second half before failing to claim all the points.

“Vics really were the in-form side, so a draw is not the worst result in the world. We had our chances to win, and that isn’t me being subjective about it,” said coach Esterhuizen.

Despite the match ending in a draw, the boys in stripes put on a fluid attacking display. “The team was very expansive, they threw the ball around well and the backline was excellent. You can see that because one of the tries we scored was the result of a ninety-meter counter attack,”

Fluid in attack and systematically solid in defence, the FNB Ikey Tigers were up against a formidable attacking force as well. “They had the Maties 7s guys in their backline, and we missed a few tackles at the beginning of the game but it was a solid defensive performance from the boys,” reflected coach Esterhuizen.

The Ikeys were leading until about 72 minutes when Victorians equalized, and the latter went on to have the opportunity to win the game late on but they failed to convert.

The scorers against Victorians:

Tries: Brenton Greaves, Rayno Mapoe, Penalty try

Conversions: Rob Anderson (x2)

Next up is a match against NNK on Saturday, and the mood around the camp is very positive despite the shorter recovery time.

“They’re not sitting too high on the log and we’re feeling confident going into this game. It’s our last home game for the season so we’re looking forward to playing a good game on Saturday,” said Esterhuizen.

While the team is still yet to be confirmed, there aren’t any new injuries aside from a few niggles here and there, with a few players having pulled out of the last game due to having the flu. The FNB Ikey Tigers are set to take on NNK Rugby Club on Saturday, the 6^th of August at 16:00 at Groote Shuur A in what is set to be their last home game of the season.