adminemerged 26-21 winners over Sports Club and they remain the only side yet to taste defeat in the National Rugby League.
A few weeks back they made light work of Old Hararians in an ill-tempered game.
The last time the Dragons overpowered Sports Club was in a league opener in April 2011 when they won 23-15 in front of the Red Lions’ fans. And on Saturday the Dragons ended their 25-month wait by turning the tables with a good performance up front where they dominated and gave Sports Club a tough time.
“Saturday’s win against Harare Sports Club was a big one for the team and a good way to tie up the first part of the season going into the break,” said Mitchell. It was a match divided into three in which Sports Club dominated the first and last parts but they could not make the most out of what they got, losing a 9-0 lead at the beginning of the match before OGs took control of matters.
Three penalties from Teddy Hwata gave the hosts the lead before the Old Georgians duo of Tatas Mtataguta and captain Jacques Leitao’s (who scored a try in each half) touch downs were converted by Philip Jeans to leave the visitors leading 14-9 going into the break.
In the second period, the Dragons were powered forward by tries from Andrew Rose and Leitao, who added another touch down, with Jeans converting one prior to Sports Club’s Philip Machisa and Tafadzwa Bepura touching down. “Our tight five certainly laid the foundation at scrum time and in all collisions. On top of this our loose forwards (Jacques Leitao, Andrew Rose and Alan Kennedy) did some great work on defence and they had good yard gains with ball in hand.
“Late additions in the match of Farai Jijita and Leroy Sibanda injected a youthful approach to the closing moments of the game,” said the former Cheetahs player. The re-building process over the past two years, Mitchell said, was one of the reasons the former champions have found their strength.
Week 5 Standings
P W D L F A B Pts
Old Georgians 5 5 0 0 185 47 4 24
Old Hararians 5 4 1 0 239 80 3 19
Western Panthers 5 4 1 0 121 135 2 18
Harare Sports Club 4 2 2 0 164 78 4 12
Gweru Sports Club 5 2 3 0 77 191 3 11
Mat’land Warriors 4 1 3 0 103 95 3 7
Zvishavane Bulls 4 0 4 0 38 138 1 1
Old Miltonians 4 0 4 0 50 213 1 1
Results: Harare Sports Club 21, Old Georgians 29; Mat’land Warriors 29, Old Hararians 37;
Western Panthers 19, Zvishavane Bulls 8; Gweru Sports Club 14, Old Miltonians 3.
Online Reporter