Masi RFC rout Paarl as they keep SLC dreams alive

Going into the final game, pressure was on the Masi First Team to perform. Partly because they were coming from a loss at Blue Jets and partly because of how the day was panning out – Masi’s Under-20s, 3rd team and 2nd team all lost on the Saturday which put quite the damper on proceedings.

The 1sts began the game looking to prove a point and dominated from the onset but it was the wily Paarl outfit that ended up scoring two tries against the run of play to take an early lead.

Masi slowly clawed their way back through two converted tries by Rendani Ramovha and then Lungelo Payi. Masi’s defense let them down as they conceded again to go into the break 5 points behind.

Alastair Theys’ men turned it on in the second half and scored three more tries while limiting Paarl to a single penalty. The final score was 34 – 22 to Masi as they left a shell-shocked Paarl with a bonus point win in the bag.

In what was a great team performance, Lungelo Payi and Ruan Booysen stood out on the day and were immense. You would struggle to find a blade of grass that Payi did not cover during the game whilst Booysen gave good direction with great handling and solid support lines.

Masiphumelele can go into the break with their heads held high after a solid start to their debut Super League C campaign. Their rise through the club rugby divisions has been nothing short of inspirational and they continue to improve year in and year out.