{"id":79017,"date":"2025-08-04T09:25:28","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T07:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=79017"},"modified":"2025-08-04T09:25:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T07:25:28","slug":"bester-stars-for-df-malan-vs-strand-hopefields-lubbe-bags-hat-trick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=79017","title":{"rendered":"Bester stars for DF Malan vs Strand, Hopefield’s Lubbe bags hat-trick"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hopefield
Ho\u00ebrskool Hopefield took the attack to Ho\u00ebrskool Hopefield and came away with an 11-point win away from home. Photo: Gideon Carstens<\/strong><\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two tries and two conversions from flyhalf Ethan Bester<\/strong> helped DF Malan<\/strong> secure a narrow 29-24 victory over Strand <\/strong>on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, the visitors edged out Swartland 25-20 when their scrumhalf Jayden Steenkamp <\/strong>landed two key penalty kicks. The roles were reversed in Bellville, with Strand feeling what it was like to come out on the wrong end of the result in a tough match because of the opposition’s halfback.<\/p>\n

Just three minutes into the match, the hosts opened the scoring. After passing the ball out wide from a breakdown on the halfway line, wing Diaan<\/strong>\u00a0Loucas<\/strong> cut inside before being tackled. But he picked out Bester with an offload to his left before he hit the deck. Bester collected and ran in for five.<\/p>\n

The rest of the half was a back-and-forth affair between the evenly contested sides with the home team just 12-5 ahead at the break.<\/p>\n

In the second half, Strand tried some enterprising variations. They tried passing the ball back and forth between the centres, then tried wrap-around moves.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, a 42nd minute pass from the base of the ruck to flyhalf Justin Phillips<\/strong>, down the blindside, led to a line break and a try from the flyhalf. To quote Renaissance polymath, Leonardo Da Vinci: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”<\/p>\n

When Strand kept it simple and looked after the basics, they were able to get the better of the DF Malan defence at times.<\/p>\n

The home side, though, was resilient and well-coordinated, and they kept possession for long spells of play. That cohesion helped them to withstand the Strand assault and was a key factor in DF Malan coming away with a well-deserved victory.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Hopefield<\/strong> travelled to Malmesbury<\/strong> to play Swartland. Thanks to a hat-trick from lock Nieken Lubbe<\/strong>, the visitors left with a 31-20 victory.<\/p>\n

The home side’s flyhalf De Wet van Aswegen<\/strong> enjoyed a good game. He slotted two penalties and two conversions, and his distribution got Swartland’s backline moving at speed, although they couldn’t conjure up quite enough finishes.<\/p>\n

The visitors, meanwhile, were clinical when they made 22-metre entries, whether their attack came from open play, or set-pieces. That was the difference between the sides.<\/p>\n

It was a second win on the trot in the third term for Hopefield, who cruised to a 46-6 win over Ho\u00ebrskool Labori<\/strong> on the previous weekend.<\/p>\n

For Swartland, it was another frustrating loss after a competitive showing. They’ll aim for their first win of the term when they host Ho\u00ebrskool Punt<\/strong> next Saturday.<\/p>\n

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

DF Malan 29 (12) –<\/strong> Tries: Eben Bester (2), Chris de Jager, Ruan Krugel, Johan Pieterse. Conversions: Eben Bester (2); Strand 24 (5) –<\/strong> Tries: Ruan Bezuidenhout, Justin Phillips, Jayden Steenkamp, Josh Lourens. Conversions: Jayden Steenkamp (2).<\/p>\n

Swartland 20 (12) –<\/strong> Tries: Dimitrios Boutsikaris, Melchoir Botha. Conversions: De Wet van Aswegen (2). Penalties: De Wet van Aswegen (2); Hopefield 31 (14) –<\/strong> Tries: Nieken Lubbe (3), Rowan Beaton. Conversions: Jordan Loubser (4). Penalties: Jordan Loubser.<\/p>\n

Other Results\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

U19 –<\/strong> DF Malan II 26 Strand II 36, DF Malan III 20 Strand III 17; Swartland II 12 Hopefield II 17.<\/p>\n

U16 –<\/strong> DF Malan A 17 Strand A 29, DF Malan B 21 Strand B 28; Swartland A 14 Hopefield A 3.<\/p>\n

U15 –<\/strong> DF Malan A 3 Strand A 35, DF Malan B 0 Strand B 88; Swartland A 24 Hopefield A 27.<\/p>\n

U14 –<\/strong> DF Malan A 7 Strand A 32; Swartland A 20 Hopefield A 22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two tries and two conversions from flyhalf Ethan Bester helped DF Malan secure a narrow 29-24 victory over Strand on Saturday. Last weekend, the visitors edged out Swartland 25-20 when their scrumhalf Jayden Steenkamp landed two key penalty kicks. The roles were reversed in Bellville, with Strand feeling what it was like to come out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":79040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79017","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\/79017","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\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/79040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}