Primrose struggles against in-form Collegians

Mark Ward

Kenilworth-based Primrose traveled to Mitchell’s Plain at the weekend to face an in-form Collegians in a Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) Super League B encounter at Lentegeur sports ground. The home side got off to a shaky start but ultimately secured a hard-fought  49-29 win.

Leading 24-8 with 10 minutes to go before halftime, Primrose had reason to fancy their chances and by all accounts, dominated much of the first half. However, Collegians had other ideas.

The visitors drew first blood with a try and conversion to take a 7-0 lead, but the home side pulled one back to make it 7-5. Collegians struck back with two quick tries before the break to make it 29-24 and crossed over for another in the second half to help secure victory for the Lentegeur side.

Throngs of die-hard Collegians supporters who braved Saturday’s cold and wintry conditions ditched their brollies to join their heroes in pouring rain as they celebrated an opportune moment of their club’s 2025 Super League B campaign.

The spontaneous celebrations following the home side’s come-from-behind win triggered hopes of them reaching the play-off stages of the competition.

As coach Hashiem Samsodien put it, “they clicked” just before heading for the change rooms. 

While Samsodien was humble in victory trying hard to downplay the enormity of his side’s win which propelled them into second place on the league standings following their well-deserved bonus point win, he could simply not hide the fact that the victory, the seventh of the season, now towers as a beacon in their quest for promotion in the Union’s second-tier competition.

“With the lead that Primroses had, the team didn’t panic and managed to gather itself nicely. They got stuck into the game again, and the belief they showed not to give up was admirable,” he said.

Coming back from the break, the revitalised home side got their defensive strategies in place, which saw the visitors only adding a solitary try in the second stanza.

It was a case of going for the jugular as Collegians registered five more tries with winger Imaad Ismail completing his hattrick, while Mogamat Uzair Johnson and Abubaker Jappie each adding a second try, flyhalf Niyaas Johnson also waded in with a single try. Fullback Abubaker Jappie slotted over three conversions and a solo penalty to complete a scoreline that in the early stages looked distant until about 12 minutes of play left.  

“It was tough, and the condition added to our struggling to get going. I think the turning point came when we started to dominate the breakdowns, one of their strong points. I also think we dominated the lineouts. This is where we started to click and to lay the platform for our victory,” said Samodien.

Duitser Engelbrecht (2), Denver Mostert and Kyle Kruger scored tries for Primrose while Gakeem Larney successfully converted three tries and added a penalty.

While Primrose drops down to sixth place Collegians joins log leaders, Goodwood, Franschhoek and Belhar on 36 points apiece. Kraaifontein occupies fifth spot with 34 points with Primrose on 33.

Upcoming fixtures:

Super League A

Uni-Mill v False Bay;  St George's v Brackenfell; Van der Stel /Evergreens v Hamilton;
Helderberg v Villager; SK Walmer v Durb-Bell

Superliga B

NTK v CPUT; Kraaifontein vs Hamlets; Macassar vs Goodwood; Franschhoek v Vineyards;
Belhar v Hand&Hearts; Primrose v Kylemore

Super League C

Scottsdene Central v Strand; Young Peoples v Eerste River; Gardens v All Saints;
Pniel Villagers v Busy Bees; Rangers v Caledonian Roses; Atlantis v Strand United;
Langa v Violets

• Additional reporting by Fuad Esack