The Tusker Simba XV completed their debut at the Vodacom cup on Saturday with a 10-77 loss at the hands of the Toyota Free State XV.
The Simbas finished seventh in the Eastern conference on seven points off 1 win and 3 bonus points. It was a respectable outing by the side, considering it was the first time they were coming up against opposition of this calibre.
The tournament was used as preparation for the upcoming world cup qualifiers and to that end, the technical bench made the most of the outing. This clear from the whole sale changes they made to the match squad every week.
It was not the massacre many had predicted it would be, and the side definitely leaves Mzansi a much, much better side than they were 8 weeks ago.
The Simbas held their own over the two months, that defeat to the Toyota Free State XV, the heaviest of the campaign. They kicked off the campaign on the best of notes, beating the EP Kings 17-10, at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town.
This was followed by a 51-7 loss against the SWD Eagles at the same venue, for this match the technical bench made a total of 13 changes to the side that won the opening encounter.
The side then travelled to East London, at the Buffalo City Stadium where they narrowly lost to the Border Bulldogs 18-17, earning a losing bonus point from this encounter.
The fourth match saw the side return to Cape Town, where they lost 24-19 to the Regent Boland Cavaliers, the side picking up the second bonus point. In the only match that was broadcast live, the side battled to a 37-22 half time result against the Western Province at the DHL Newlands in Cape Town.
The second half saw the hosts score four tries to our one, for a 65-29 final result. It was a spirited fight from the Simbas, especially at the forwards where we stood toe to toe with their more experienced pack for big parts of the match.
The fifth encounter, was the only one where the Simba failed to score a try, that one against the Cell C Sharks at City Park, final score, 40-3. After this the tournament took a break over the Easter weekend, before travelling to Bloemfontein where they played their final match against the Toyota Free State XV.
The side scored a total of 14 tries, and 102 points in total while conceding 45 tries and 285 points in total.
It was definitely a learning experience for both the side and the union on what it takes to participate in such a tournament, lessons that will be vital going forward even past the world cup.
The big question for many is whether we will be featuring in next year’s tournament and the one after that, it would be a total waste if we were to let this opportunity slip.
The side which jetted back into the country Sunday evening will now continue preparing for the World Cup qualifiers on 28th June, and the friendly against Western Province on 7th June, there might also be the small issue of the Elgon Cup in between those dates.
Collated Results :
Tusker Simba XV 17-10 EP Kings, Tusker Simba XV 7-51 SWD Eagles, Tusker Simba XV 17-18 Border Bulldogs, Tusker Simba XV 19-24 Regent Boland Cavaliers, Tusker Simba XV 29-65 Western Province, Tusker Simba XV 3-40 Cell C Sharks, Tusker Simba XV 10-77 Toyota Free State XV.
KWISHA…Nimeruka Nje!!!
