Naka Bulle beat Northam Rhinos by 22-19 (half-time 3-7) in Pretoria on Saturday to successfully defend their African Rainbow Community Gold Cup title, thanks to a successful fightback in the second stanza.

It took all of 29 minutes for the Pretoria club to register their first points, and almost 50 to cross the tryline, but in the end, they finished the stronger of the two teams, and earned the right to lift the trophy.

All the momentum was with the Rhinos in the early stages. The bigger, heavier pack won a series of scrum penalties, repelled the hosts’ maul, and competed fiercely at the breakdowns.

The visitors earned some reward for their efforts in the 13th minute, when inside centre Mira Bovu finished a sweeping attack in the left-hand corner. Fullback Darryn Fortuin slotted a difficult conversion to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.

While the Rhinos continued to trouble the Naka Bulle at the set pieces and gainline, they failed to add to their tally before the break, with Fortuin missing two penalty goal attempts.

The hosts had a mere two scoring opportunities in the first half. Fullback Hansie Graaf slotted a penalty goal in the 29th minute, but missed a long-range attempt on the stroke of half-time.

The Rhinos enjoyed a more clinical start to the second stanza, with a well-executed maul leading to a try for hooker Khwezi Mkhafu. Fortuin added the extras to steer his side into a commanding 11-point lead.

Just as the game appeared to be slipping away from them, Naka Bulle scored their first try through Ethan Williams. The forwards managed to set their maul and compromise the Rhinos defence, and the scrumhalf raced through a gap to score under the posts.

The momentum of the contest shifted, with the Naka Bulle winning the collisions and set pieces against a tiring Rhinos pack. Graaf crossed the tryline in the 64^th minute to give his team the lead for the first time in the game.

After being awarded a scrum penalty in the 72^nd minute, the Rhinos turned down a shot at goal in favour of another set piece. A well-worked move to the blindside culminated in a knock-on.

The contest was decided a moment later, when the hosts charged down an attempted clearance, and replacement Ruan Viviers swooped on the loose ball to score.

The Rhinos scored another try via their rolling maul in the dying moments, but the five-pointer had no bearing on the final result.

Scorers:

Naka Bulle 22 (3) – Tries: Ethan Williams, Hansie Graaf, Ruan Viviers. Conversions: Graaf (2). Penalty goal: Graaf.

Northam Rhinos 19 (7) – Tries: Mira Bovu, Khwezi Mkhafu (2). Conversions: Darryn Fortuin (2).