{"id":39587,"date":"2024-03-28T20:42:31","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T18:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=39587"},"modified":"2024-03-28T20:42:31","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T18:42:31","slug":"recces-boot-a-test-too-far-for-hartpury-helpies-back-to-winning-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=39587","title":{"rendered":"Recce’s boot a test too far for Hartpury, Helpies back to winning ways"},"content":{"rendered":"

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PHOTO: Frans Lombard\/Actionpix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Helpmekaar Kollege<\/strong> will be relieved after bagging a comfortable 47-7 victory over Diamantveld<\/strong> of Kimberley in the main match on the opening day of the annual St Stithians College Easter Festival<\/strong> in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

It was a much-needed victory for the team from Johannesburg and a confidence boost after they suffered defeats against Voortrekker<\/strong> of Bethlehem (19-20) and Oakdale Landbou<\/strong> (22-41) during the NMI Toyota Noord\/Suid Tournament<\/strong> in Pretoria.<\/p>\n

The defeat against the Trekkers would’ve hurt more as two of Helpies’ coaching staff, Christiaan Gouws<\/strong> and RJ Liebenberg,<\/strong> both have strong ties to the school from Bethlehem.<\/p>\n

Liebenberg captained the Trekkers in 2009 while Gouws coached them to multiple Wesgrow Series<\/strong>‘ titles.<\/p>\n

Helpies’ forwards were ready for a physical onslaught against Diamonds. They were clinical in the lineouts and the Diamonds had no answers for their rolling maul.<\/p>\n

Hooker, Gustav Grotius<\/strong>, as well as tighthead prop, Ulrich van der Merwe<\/strong>, were outstanding. Grotius scored a brace of tries, while Van der Merwe caused the Diamonds’ defence trouble every time he decided to go off on one of his bullocking runs.<\/p>\n

Flyhalf, Wian Storm<\/strong>, had his kicking boots on and converted six of his side’s seven tries.<\/p>\n

Helpies’ next match is against St John’s College,<\/strong> of Harare. Head coach Dietlov Coetzee<\/strong> and his troops should be wary of the team from Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

St John’s <\/strong>secured an impressive 25-23 victory over Michaelhouse<\/strong> on the opening day. It was a closely contested match throughout, with the lead exchanging hands five times during the encounter.<\/p>\n

The visitors from Zimbabwe enjoyed a narrow 5-3 advantage at the break, thanks to a try by their winger PK Manyakara<\/strong>. Michaelhouse’s flyhalf, Stefan Moolman<\/strong>, had his kicking boots on and converted both of his side’s tries and slotted three penalties.<\/p>\n

Moolman had a chance to be a hero as he attempted a fourth penalty that would’ve sealed a victory for his side, but it was not to be. The final five minutes of the clash was a tense and exciting affair.<\/p>\n

St John’s flyhalf, Tyde Stirrup<\/strong>, slotted a penalty to give his side a 16-15 lead with just more than five minutes to go. Michaelhouse never managed to get the lead back.<\/p>\n

A minute later, winger Stefan Kruger<\/strong> scored, with Stirrup adding the extras, to stretch the Zimbabwean team’s lead to 25-16. With two minutes left on the clock, replacement hooker, Aphiwe Shelembe<\/strong>, stormed over the try line for Michaelhouse. Moolman converted, with just enough time left for another kick-off.<\/p>\n

Marais Viljoen<\/strong>‘s flyhalf and captain, Recce Gerber<\/strong>, played a key role as his side shifted a gear in the second half to defeat Hartpury College<\/strong> of England 27-19. The team from Gloucestershire had led 19-14 at the break.<\/p>\n

It was clear from the first-half performance by Hartpury College that their bigger pack of forwards would provide a serious challenge for the team from Alberton. Gerber, however, turned the visitors’ pack around for most of the second half, while his own pack of forwards also put their bodies on the line.<\/p>\n

The flanker Lloyd Shoko-Schenk<\/strong> seemed to enjoy the physical battle. He troubled Hartpury College on the ground, as well as when he carried the ball.<\/p>\n

Scorers:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Helpmekaar 47 (21) –<\/strong> Tries: Gustav Grotius (2), Zaiden Krige, Pieter M\u00f6ller, Ulrich van der Merwe, Tristan van Niekerk, Zander van der Westhuizen. Conversions: Wian Storm (6). Diamantveld 7 (7) –<\/strong> Try: Clinton Brits. Conversion: Simon Liversage.<\/p>\n

St John’s College (Harare) 25 (5) –<\/strong> Tries: PK Manyakara, Sebastiaan du Toit, Stefan Kruger. Conversions: Tyde Stirrup (2). Penalties: Stirrup (2). Michaelhouse 23 (3) –<\/strong> Tries: Lwandle Nzama, Aphiwe Shelembe. Conversions: Stefan Moolman (2). Penalties: Moolman (3).<\/p>\n

Marais Viljoen 27 (14) –<\/strong> Tries: Jonothan Morkel, Rynier Welgemoed, Lloyd Shoko-Schenk. Conversions: Recce Gerber (3). Penalties: Gerber (2). Hartpury College 19 (19) –<\/strong> Tries: Haydn Lewis, Jack Cotgreave, James Armstrong. Conversions: Max Brace (2).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Helpmekaar Kollege will be relieved after bagging a comfortable 47-7 victory over Diamantveld of Kimberley in the main match on the opening day of the annual St Stithians College Easter Festival in Johannesburg. It was a much-needed victory for the team from Johannesburg and a confidence boost after they suffered defeats against Voortrekker of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}