GARDEN ROUTE SPORT NEWS - Knysna United narrowly missed out on a chance to cause an upset against Happy Hearts from Brandwag, Mossel Bay, when their second team failed to convert all four tries and capitalise on a three-man advantage, while the first team was ousted by a last-minute try in their clashes at Loerie Park on 3 August.
The second teams were once again first to kick off.
The first half of the game was an exciting affair, and a close one at that too, but Knysna seemed to hold the edge over the visitors, thanks to a superior attack and a resolute defence.
They managed to outscore the visitors by three tries to two, but failed to convert any of their tries as the game went into halftime with the score at 15-12.
A tense second half would follow, when Knysna had chances aplenty to bury the game and take the win, but failed to do so due to poor handling, ball control and decision making in the final third.
There was a period in the second half where Happy Hearts found themselves with three men in the sin bin, but Knysna failed to capitalise.
Happy Hearts managed to round out an imperfect performance with a 29-20 win, setting the tone for a tense first team game to come.
The tumultuous first team game
The first teams enjoyed a slightly late kick-off, with their game getting under way just before 16:00.
The first half was much like the second team game in the sense that it was a thrilling encounter, but Knysna's first team one-upped their seconds in that they were able to convert their tries, but a Happy Hearts penalty and two tries saw the visitors take a 15-14 halftime lead.
Despite scoring two tries in the first half, Knysna were far from themselves and after the interval produced a much better performance, managing to dominate the majority of the remaining encounter.
But once again, as with the second team, they were their own worst enemy as handling errors, ill discipline, and poor game management cost them the game.
The final moments
Knysna were 26-15 ahead with 10 minutes to go, but then disaster struck for the home side as they were handed a red card after their player had kicked out at a Happy Hearts player that had kicked him first.
As with most cases of an action and reaction, the referee only saw the reaction and gave a fitting sanction to the Knysna player that meant they had to play the remainder of the game with 14 men.
A Happy Hearts try and conversion soon followed to bring the score to 26-22 with a handful of minutes to go.
Knysna managed to win a scrum just outside their 22m area, and with less than two minutes remaining all they had to do was wind down the clock with a few breakdowns, but instead opted to continue with their brand of attacking rugby.
This ultimately led to their downfall, as Happy Hearts won a turnover, spread the ball out wide to their backline and ran in a try in the last minute to seal the game.
Knysna had time to kick off, but the kick-off bounced into touch and brought about the end to a truly brilliant game of rugby that went in Happy Hearts' favour, with a final score of 29-26.
The Happy Hearts scrumhalf makes a pass to his back line in the first team game. Photo: Blake Linder
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