MAGUGA – South Africa’s relentless depth thwarted Eswatini’s heavyweight fightback to capture their fifth consecutive team tournament trial title at Maguga Dam.
Following Wednesday’s official scanning and registration proceedings, the three-day international test cast off from Thursday through to Saturday, with both nations fielding six boats made up of two anglers apiece.
Team Eswatini featured 10 anglers with previous international experience, while two competitors earned their national colours for the very first time. South Africa, meanwhile, arrived with a largely seasoned squad, introducing only two newcomers into an otherwise familiar line-up.
The rivalry returned to Maguga two years after Eswatini last hosted the fixture, with the previous edition having been staged at Loskop Dam in Mpumalanga, South Africa.
While Team Eswatini produced several of the tournament’s heaviest bags, it was South Africa’s steady average catches across all boats that ultimately allowed them to dominate the standings.
Day one proved crucial as South Africa opened up an early advantage, weighing in a commanding 32.015kg against Eswatini’s 25.650kg.
The standout pairing for Team Eswatini was William Brown and Chad Kelly, who boated the biggest bag of the day at 8.245kg, while Daryl McKenzie and Carter McKenzie added a solid 5.655kg to the home side’s tally.
For Team South Africa, captain Charl Carey and Hannes van Wyk led the visitors with an impressive 6.385kg haul, closely followed by Andrea Dugmore, who was the tournament’s only female angler, alongside Jarryd Austen on 6.245kg.
The difficult bite continued into day two, with South Africa maintaining control after edging Eswatini 27.870kg to 25.400kg.
Daryl McKenzie and the evergreen Carter responded brilliantly for the hosts with one of the tournament’s best bags at 8.135kg, while JP Poupard and Nick Poupard contributed 6.500kg.
South Africa again relied on depth and consistency rather than explosive catches, with Jaco Strauss and Morne Strauss weighing 6.050kg, while David Ziehl and Dean de Wet landed 4.655kg to keep the visitors firmly ahead overall.
The final day brought improved weather and livelier fishing conditions as sunshine finally broke through after two gruelling days dominated by rain, cold fronts and murky water.
Team Eswatini’s Wimpie Bouwer, Louis van Zuydam, Carter McKenzie and Daryl McKenzie proudly displayed some of the day’s better catches as the hosts mounted a spirited late response.
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