Harlequins Colts 31 - Alliance RFC 5

Match report by Michael Engelbrecht

The Quin Colts defeated cross town rivals Alliance by a score of 31 – 5 at Glencoe Park this past Saturday. The Colts came out roaring from the opening whistle as lock Taylor Mokate took the kickoff and surged 30 meters uphill. Mokate then stole an Alliance lineout just outside the Alliance 22 with the ball distributed swiftly through the Colts backs to the sideline and then back inside to the supporting forwards. Quick ruck ball was moved through the hands of scrumhalf Drew West and center Victor Cadena and into the hands of Mokate to score under the posts. Keegan Engelbrecht converted; score 7-0.

A series of scrums and penalties followed the kickoff as a result of Colt pressure on the game Alliance defense. Colts #9 Drew West picked the Alliance scrumhalf’s pocket at the back of an Alliance scrum and quickly fed the ever present flanker Jason Engelbrecht. The ensuing maul was taken forward over the Alliance goal line by 16 year old man mountain prop Jarrod Greene (a.k.a. Subway). Score 14-0 Colts with Keegan Engelbrecht’s conversion.

The ensuing kickoff was followed by a period of messy play with Alliance putting pressure on the Colt goal line, unfortunately for them, Colts #9 West poached a tackle and took off on a 70 meter solo run before being brought to ground by the cover defense. Quick to seize the moment the Colts moved the ball again through the supporting backs to result in a try in the corner by center Victor Cadena. Keegan Engelbrecht missed the conversion; score 19-0 Colts.

With the first half winding down the Colts found themselves with a scrum feed near the left side of the field on the Alliance 40 meter line. With the forwards setting a stable scrum the Colts attacked with the backs, flyhalf Engelbrecht executed a beautiful pass to the outside center running a perfect attacking angle to split the defense and score under the posts. This was the best try of the day and the second for outside center Cadena. Engelbrecht converted. Half time score 26-0. 

The Colts strategy was drastically changed for the second half. Mass substitutions were made in order to give the Colt reserves playing time against an Alliance team that if given a chance to gel could be quite dangerous. Additionally, Coach Michael Engelbrecht wanted to see recently included lineout options and other plays executed against a live and motivated defense. The Colts were camped for most of the half inside the Alliance 22 but were unable to convert their many scoring opportunities into points. The only try of the half came from a #8 pickup at the base of the scrum by Mokate (who had moved from lock to #8). Conversion failed; score 31 – 0 Colts.

Alliance ended the game with a late flourish and foray into Colt territory. The Alliance #8 picked up from the base of a scrum and ran down the blind side to score in the corner. Conversion failed – final score Colts 31 and Alliance 5.

Colt Scoring:
Tries: Mokate (2), Cadena (2), Jarrod Greene
Con: K. Engelbrecht (3)