Rhinos, Hogs lock horns in 15s final
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday August 2, 2024 14:33
Hogs made it to the final after beating BDF Cheetahs 26-11 while Rhinos edged Jwaneng 30-26 during the semi-finals played last weekend. Hogs are expected to use home-ground advantage to contain Rhinos. Both sides have strong benches, which will have an impact on the game when Wildebeests hanges are made. Rhinos walloped Hogs to win the BRU Knock Out Cup at the beginning of the season. Hogs coach, Vuyisile Moyo told MmegiSport that being the defending champions comes with pressure on its own. “The pressure is high but the boys are well prepared this time because we lost to Rhinos in the Knock Out Cup final.
Our defence was our strength during the semi-final match, and our kicking game worked for us. We expect those elements to continue giving us an upper hand on Saturday,” he said. Moyo said being in the final is special and one gets to play against the second-best team in the country. When asked which player he expects to make a difference in the team and win the match, Moyo said all the players have specific roles to play and they work as a team to win the games. “Our game plan will win the game for us,” he added. Rhinos head coach, Khina Masinki, said they have managed to tick all boxes that they targeted at the beginning of the season. “Ticking all the boxes I do not mean that we are done.
We are going into the final to win it. We have been putting in a lot of work; we deserve this. We played Jwaneng this past weekend, a good side with a good coach who knows what he is doing. To be honest, it could have been anyone’s game,” he said. Masinki said there is no way they can be in the championship without depth and that is one of the things they focused on when they rebuilt Rhinos. He said they never struggle when a player is absent. “In most of the games we always conceded first, even against Jwaneng, we were trailing in the first half, second half we made tactical changes, and brought in experienced older players who came in to finish off the game.
We have an upper hand against Hogs when it comes to depth and the ability to come back from behind,” he said. Masinki said all players are available for selection and most of the work this week has been on defence. Players that carry Rhinos title hopes are Tonic Ndoda (full back), Banjo Kesianye (fly half), and the experienced Thato Maifala (hooker).
Other matches
Reserve League semi-finals Hogs vs Shakawe BUAN vs Jaguars
Women semi-final BDF vs Hogs Rhinos vs Shakawe
The semi-finals will be followed by the finals on the same day.