The Chennai Bulls and Hyderabad Heroes put on quite a show for their fans, as they won at a canter against the Kalinga Black Tigers and the Delhi Redz, respectively, on Day 12 of Season 1 of the Rugby Premier League at the Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex, here on Thursday.
In the first game of the day, the Chennai Bulls outclassed the Kalinga Black Tigers 40-21. From the get-go, the Chennai Bulls were looking to put a lot of pressure on the Kalinga Black Tigers’ defence. And it was the Bulls who had the better of the early exchanges, as Vaafauese Maliko sprinted down the wing to get his try.
Shortly after, the Tigers got on the scoresheet with Kyle Tremblay’s try and Maurice Longbottom’s conversion. The Tigers then extended the lead with Manueli Maisamoa's try and Ethan Turner’s conversion. However, it was all Chennai after that.
For the Bulls, Joseva Talacolo added a try and Vaafauese Maliko went over the line a couple of more times whilst Gaurav Kumar converted all his kicks. The Bulls had stormed into a 12-point lead by the end of the third quarter, and they continued to dominate the proceedings in the final phase of play as well.
Filipe Sauturaga got on the scoresheet with a try and a conversion, and Alexander Davis’s try was complemented by Joseva Talacolo’s conversion. For the Tigers, Lucas Lacamp scored a try in the final minutes, but it was too little, too late.
In the second game of the evening, the Hyderabad Heroes stamped their authority over their opponents, as they defeated the Delhi Redz 40-19. The Delhi Redz, who have one eye on the final semifinal spot, had a bright start with Jordan Conroy scoring a try. From then on, the Hyderabad Heroes grabbed the contest by the scruff of the neck as Javed Hussain scored yet another try.
That was followed up by Lautaro Velez and Kevin Wekesa getting over the line with ease, while Velez scored three converting kicks. Quarter 3 saw Wolfram Hacker cross the line as well, giving the Heroes a solid 26-5 lead.
The Heroes quite literally ran away with the game as Joji Nasova raced through the heart of the Redz’s defence and Velez added two more points to the cause. Before the third quarter was over, Velez added another seven points to the cause. With a quarter to go in the game, the Heroes led 40-5.
In the final quarter, Patrick Okongo added two more tries, and Matias Osadczuk and Alejandro Laforga scored their kicks as well. But the Heroes had done enough to come away with the win.