{"id":181202,"date":"2018-06-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-26T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/181202\/simmer-suffer-hard-blow-in-pirates-grand-challenge\/"},"modified":"2018-06-25T12:52:22","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T10:52:22","slug":"simmer-suffer-hard-blow-in-pirates-grand-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/sports-news\/2018\/06\/26\/simmer-suffer-hard-blow-in-pirates-grand-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Simmer suffer hard blow in Pirates Grand Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Germiston Simmer Rugby Club clashed against Diggers Rugby Club in the Pirates Grand Challenge, which falls under the Golden Lions Rugby Union, on Saturday at Germiston Stadium.<\/p>\n

A crowd of animated supporters championing their respective teams ensured a warm atmosphere in the stadium as both teams made their way onto the pitch.<\/p>

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Simmer took to the field with a fierce energy ready to keep the Diggers men in check.<\/p>\n

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Akhona Gumede (Simmer) beats his Diggers opponent in catching the ball in the line-out.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ALSO READ:\u00a0\u00a0Tough weekend for Simmer<\/a><\/h4>\n

However, much to their disappointment an early try by Diggers set the tone for the match.<\/p>

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Simmer was left trailing for the better half of the match and they had no room to charge forward as Diggers pushed to maximise on their chances to score.<\/p>\n

The Diggers\u2019 forwards kept the ball in play near the try-line for over 20 minutes, however, their backline attacks were met by resilient Simmer backs.<\/p>\n

Simmer achieved an advantage when Charl Wright edged past the Diggers forwards and both teams moved towards the middle of the field.<\/p>\n

Wright was challenged but he escaped a few tackles with the help of his teammates and he went over the try-line for his first of two tries making the score 14\u201313.<\/p>\n

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Charl Wright of Germiston Simmer Rugby Club with the ball in hand, charging towards Diggers Rugby Club\u2019s backline with team mate JP Loots looking on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This put Simmer in the lead for the first time in the clash letting the visitors know it was game on.<\/p>\n

In the second half Diggers come out guns blazing and tried to dominate a scattered Simmer.<\/p>\n

Diggers, with a well-structured defensive backline, dominated Simmer who couldn\u2019t capitalise on their scoring opportunities.<\/p>\n

It was back to relying on Simmer\u2019s defensive plays, which suffered a major blow when they conceded two soft tries, handing the match to Diggers at 40\u201327.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:\u00a0Elsburg supporters cheer their team on to home victory<\/a><\/h4>\n