The SARL Rhino’s came out strongly trying to avenge the first match loss, and crossed over the tryline within 5 minutes with a try by winger Craig Pienaar. A missed conversion by Jason Makhari left them with the opening 4 points. Calmness prevailed at the USA Hawks and they started applying pressure on the contact points, and the next 20 minute scored 4 tries through standout NRL player Daniel Vidot, two tries by NFL convert Ulice Gillard and ex Super League player-coach Peter Lupton with Mason McCrory converting twice.The Rhino’s got a later surge in the second half, taking advantage of the stifling heat as rookie Craig Pienaar went over twice for his hat trick. Jason Makhari got one conversion over. Just before the halfway point Daniel Vidot powered over for the USA’s 5th try, taking the scoreline to 24-14 at the halfway mark.The heat eased off a bit and a battle broke out for supremacy in the second half. Ulice Gillard from the Hawks completed his hat trick for the day early in the second half, followed quickly by Ryan Bannerot. Both conversions were unsuccessful and the Rhino’s responded with a try by Heinrich Rademeyer and Jean Coetzer, two of the more experienced players on the field. The conversions went wrong in what ended up being a tough day for the kickers.
After a period of sustained attack, Tevita Bryce crashed over under the posts, and Mason McCrory converted, taking the score to 38-22, very similar to the first match score. The Rhinos showed tremendous grit and determination and James Campbell and Dylan Venter went over for tries near the end with Jason Campbell converting one try. As the match seemed over, Tevita Bryce managed to power through after the horn and Mason McCrory converted, making the final score 44 to 32 for the USA Hawks.The USA Hawks finished the series unbeaten and the USA Coaching staff can be very happy with their performance. SARL coaching staff needs to go back to the drawing board as the players were competitive at times and have shown they can score, but are not able to close matches out.Scoring:South Africa:Tries: Craig Pienaar (3), Heinrich Rademyer (1), Jean Coetzer (1), James Campbell (1), Dylan Venter (1)Conversions: Jason Makhari (1/6), James Campbell (1/1)United States:Tries: Ulice Gillard (3), Daniel Vidot (2), Tevita Bryce (2), Peter Lupton (1), Ryan Bannerot (1)Conversions: Mason McCrory ( 4/9),
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