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Marlow Landbou het Saterdag, 25 Mei teen Hoërskool Diamantveld kragte gemeet op Marlow. Marlow klop vir Diamantveld 58-5.

Marlow het reg vanaf die staanspoor met hul voorspelers die tuisspan aangevat met fisieke spel. Die Wolramme se pak voorspelers het met elke geleentheid die bal met krag-rugby gedra en ook op die verdediging was daar geen genade getoon nie. Marlow druk vier drieë in die eerste helfte. Nelius van Heerden (6), Hannes Viljoen (5), Chuiner van den Heever (11) en Hannes Botha (14) het almal vir die tuisspan agter die doellyn gaan kuier. Diamantveld het ook met elke geleentheid aangeval en word beloon met ‘n drie. Halftydtelling was 20-5 in Marlow se guns.

In die tweede helfte het Marlow gesorg vir briljante rugby. Die voor-en agterspelers het baie goed saam gespeel en dit is veral die interaksie spel wat uitstaande was. Marlow was geduldig op die aanval en het geleenthede geskep deur goeie, konstruktiewe rugby.

Marlow druk ses drieë waarvan vier verdoel is deur Marlow se lossskakel, Heini Brümm. Diamantveld het geen antwoorde gehad vir Marlow se puik vaste fasette nie. Marlow moes egter werk vir al die punte wat hulle aangeteken het. Vir Marlow het Nelius van Heerden (6), Peet Schoeman (12), Ockert du Preez (7), Stephen Botha (4), Dirk van

Wyk (15) en Luigy van Jaarsveld (8) drieë gaan druk.

Marlow speel eerskomende Saterdag, 1 Junie, teen Hoërskool Framesby rugby in Port Elizabeth. Daar word klipharde rugby van beide skole verwag.

Three tries from the Drostdy captain Hanro Liebenberg was the big difference when his side beat Worcester Gimnasium 31-10 in their FNB Classic Clash on Saturday.

Drostdy played the first-half with the wind which they exploited well and managed to pin the hosts back in their own half and put them under pressure at the line-outs. The Drostdy pack was heavier and taller in the line-outs which made it a difficult day for the Worcester hooker who battled with the pressure.

The Gim forwards had to do a lot of defending and that meant that they were under a lot of pressure at set piece but also in open play as the Drostdy forwards kept running at them in waves.

Drotsdy managed to put the game beyond doubt in the first half with three tries to none and they were coasting when they went into the half-time break.

Two more tries in the second-half from Drostdy and a penalty try to Gim were the only five-pointers of the second-half that also included a Gim penalty that was converted by Nazier de Sousa.

The Drostdy side used their forwards to great effect in order to breakdown the Gim defence which lead to them claiming a well-deserved 31-10 victory.

The scorers:

For Worcester Gimnasium:

Try: Penalty Try
Con: Nazier de Sousa
Pen: Nazier de Sousa

For Drostdy:
Tries: Liebenberg 3, White, Savahl
Cons: Yousrie 3

The teams:

Worcester Gimnasium: 15 Nazier de Sousa, 14 Yusri Sedan, 13 Anele Kauma, 12 Tonel de Arcega, 11 Jonathan Stryers, 10 Nazeem de Sousa, 9 Keanan Hopley, 8 Wayne Fransman, 7 Adrian Storm, 6 Martiens Olivier, 5 Ivan Snyman, 4 Christo Smit, 3 Carl Heydenrych (captain), 2 Lorenzo Jacobs, 1 Mitch Moses. Replacements: 16 Abongile Gayiya, 17 Lionel Davids, 18 Jamie Apollis, 19 Benito Kriel, 20 Jean Gregg, 21 Louis van Rensburg, 22 Brenwyn Samuels. 

HTS Drostdy: 15 Gevin Scheepers, 14 Selwin White, 13 Daniel Pienaar (vice-captain), 12 Yousrie Savahl, 11 Rohaan Adams, 10 Wynand Roets, 9 Hugo Hall, 8 Hanro Liebenberg (captain), 7 Jurie Fick, 6 Ziaan Barnard, 5 Jeandre van Deventer, 4 Willem Augustyn, 3 Farrel Kelly, 2 Johan Prins, 1 Jermaine Siljeur. Replacements: 16 Robert Hunt, 17 Roy Brink, 18 Ruhan Marais, 19 Tiaan Mulder, 20 Eddie Haas, 21 Dillon Groenewald, 22 Carel Kotze, 23 Corne Nel

Hoërskool Kempton Park se 1ste rugbyspan het Saterdag geskiedenis gemaak deur Jeugland vir die eerste keer met meer as 50 punte op hul tuisveld te troef toe die besoekers 54-10 gewen het.

Kempies wat Jeugland al telkemale met 50 of meer punte gewen het, moes tot vanjaar wag om dit vir die eerste keer op hul bure se tuisveld te kon regkry.

Vanaf die afskop was dit duidelik dat Jeugland met negetiewe taktiek gaan probeer om Kempies se spelpatroon te ontwrig. Kempies se kaptein en losskakel Sydney du Plessis het vroeg in die wedstryd met ‘n strafskop geslaag. Du Plessis het die skare in die 26 minuut weer op hul voete gehad met ‘n briljante individuele drie. Jurie Snyman het kort voor rustyd met ‘n strafskop vir Jeugland geslaag. Kempies het geantwoord met ‘n strafskop van hul eie wat die rustydtelling op 11 teen 3 in Kempies se guns gebring het.

Nadat daar halftyd hard gepraat is deur die afrigters het Kempies behoorlik vlam gevat en Jeugland van hul voete gespeel. Jeugland het nie antwoord gehad vir Kempies se totale 15-man aanslag nie. Sewe drieë in die tweede helfde het gewys dat Kempies se agterspelers met goeie balbesit enige span aan flarde kan hardloop.

Puntemakers:

Vir Kempies:
Drieë: Sydney Du Plessis 2, Devon Marè 2, Hanno van Tonder, Ben Wepener 2, Kelvin Groenwald
Cons: Marnus Gruber 4
Pens: Sydney du Plessis 2

Vir Jeugland:
Drie: Sheldon Turner
Con: Jurie Snyman
Pen: Jurie Snyman

This is the game that was always going to decide the Southern Cape league this year and effectively all the players who have been chosen for the South Western Districts Craven Week side, bar two (Remu Malan (Outeniqua – injured) and Brendon Haas (Langenhoven Gym), were on the field.

Going in to this game there were probably very few people who would have given Oakdale a chance of winning but after sitting through the age group and 2nd and 3rd team games it must be said that a vibe started building. It was a clean sweep for Oakdale in all these games and maybe there was a chance? And how close it was! Outeniqua won 13-7 and they were all too happy to hear that final whistle because Oakdale made them fight every inch of the way.

As a spectacle it was really not a game to be remembered, but as a contest it was nail-biting stuff. It was unfortunately a game riddled with errors and in all honesty the busiest and most consistent man on the field was the referee. All things considered the difference between the two teams was the penalty count and Dian Koen (Outeniqua No.8). Not a single play in the whole game went past three phases and this was largely to do with neither team being able to hold onto the ball in the tackle through knock-ons and offside play. The latter quite clearly portrayed by the penalty count which was 17-6 in favour of Outeniqua.

Part of the reason for this penalty count was hat Oakdale, very cleverly, played the ball tight, close in to the points of breakdown and never really allowed Outeniqua any space to get their backline into any rhythm. This resulted in Oakdale unfortunately being trapped offside and going over the top repeatedly. They did however seem to have the upper hand in the loose with Benjamin Janse van Vuuren (Oak Number 6) being an absolute thorn in Outeniqua’s flesh. He was all over the field and it must be said that he on the day won the battle of the open side flanks, Oakdale’s outstanding player.

Dian Koen for Outeniqua was the other difference between the sides. He is incredibly strong, gets himself into brilliant positions on the field and I think in this game must be Outeniqua’s man of the match and the overall man of the match. Apart from scoring two tries, both great eighth man efforts that saw him carrying two or three opponents over the try line with him, he also tackled tenaciously and again, positionally, was in all the right places all the time.

Onto the line-outs and scrums. The line-outs, had on display, the South Western Districts Craven Week line-out with players from both teams forming the combined unit and it must be said that the quality of the line-outs was not very good. In a game that had an inordinately high number of line-outs (33 by my count) both teams lost numerous throws of their own line-outs. There was a lot of competition in this area but one wonders on the wisdom of a three man line-out in your own twenty-five when there are only 6 points in the game. This area was particularly messy.

The scrums were interesting and Gregory Nel (Outeniqua loosehead) was the only prop on the field not in the South Western Districts team. On today’s performance one has to wonder why not. He comprehensively outscrummed his tighthead opponent Nemo Roelofse and was as mobile as any tight forward on the day. The scrums overall were fairly evenly contested with Outeniqua possibly gaining the upper hand in the beginning of the game and Oakdale coming back strongly toward the end. This might also have had to do with the two yellow cards on the day. Donovan vd Berg (Oakdale lock) and Hendri Storm (Outeniqua lock) being sent off in the first and second halves respectively. Both sides however did give up a few tight heads, a good sign that things were evenly matched.

Behind the scrums Outeniqua was playing Leighton Eksteen (Outeniqua scrumhalf) in his favoured position as Remu Malan the usual incumbent is injured as previously mentioned. Both he and Niven Langdown (Outeniqua Number 22), who came on in the second half, were under pressure to clear from the base, particularly in the loose phases, and did a good job although this pressure did prevent the Outeniqua Backs from getting any rhythm as I have mentioned.

The kicking from hand by both teams was reasonably good but a few points where left on the table by the place kickers. One of the Oakdale players has a prodigious boot on him and on a couple of occasions kicked defensive touch-finders from his own 25 well into the Outeniqua half.

In the rest of the backlines there is not really much to report except to note that Outeniqua continues to use the fullback-flyhalf swap tactic when on defence. One must just comment on Corné de Klerk (Outeniqua right wing) who is not a regular starter for Outeniqua but came in for Eksteen . He moved to fullback later in the game and what a hard working player he is – always looking for work, stands up strongly on defence and is one of those players who you just feel is giving 110% all the time.

After all is said and done, Oakdale manfully stood up to the challenge of coming to George and taking on one of the top teams in the country this year and very nearly caused what would have been one of the biggest upsets of the year. And Outeniqua weathered the storm and will no doubt be ready for next Saturday when they take on the Lions of Langenhoven Gim in Oudtshoorn.

Scorers

For Outeniqua:
Tries: Dian Koen 2
Pens: Leighton Eksteen

For Oakdale:
Try: Benjamin Janse van Vuuren
Con: JT Jackson

In their FNB Classic Clash Ndzondelelo changed history with a 14-13 victory over Spur Itembelihle on Friday afternoon.

Spur Itembelihle entered this game with seven wins on the trot over the old foe, but the seven fat years was doomed to come to an end in the packed Dan Qeqe Stadium in Zwide, in front of almost 3000 excited fans.

The game was played in near perfect conditions, with only a slight breeze blowing across the field and played at a frenetic pace, with both sides showing a willingness to run the ball.

Ndzondelelo kicked off with the slight breeze in their backs. The kick went out on the full and Spur Itembelihle had the first opportunity to attack but just handed the ball back to Ndzondelelo when wing Mtimkulu knocked the ball on.

Ndzondelelo used their big forwards to good effect. With powerful No.8, Ayabulela Khame, getting over the advantage line from the scrums, they kept the ball close, bashing it up with their forwards, while Spur Itembelihle used their quick backline to cross the advantage line. Spur Itembelihle’s problems began in the lineouts, with hooker Sbongile Nqweniso struggling with his throws, either skew or straight over the jumpers’ heads, with the result that they lost six lineouts in a row. The Ndzondelelo lineout, on the other hand, functioned very well and they used it as a platform to attack from. They used the driving maul to good effect and often had Spur Itembelihle in trouble from it.

It was from such a lineout that Ndzondelelo scored, when their big No.4 lock broke through a number of tackles to score close to the poles for a converted try. This seemed to wake the Spur Itembelihle side up as they swept up field with wave after wave attack on the opponents’ line. There were some huge hits with Ndzondelelo players often needing treatment. Something had to give and from a ruck close to the Ndzondelelo line, flank Afrika Busakwe powered over for an unconverted try. The half time score was 7-5 to the home side.

Spur Itembelihle started with the slight breeze at their backs in the second half and had the home team under pressure for quite a while but their defence held.

Spur Itembelihle had an early chance to take the lead, but fly half Anele Gans’s kick was just wide of poles. Spur

Itembelihle swept downfield from another attack but centre Tyson Smondile knocked the ball on. From the ensuing scrum Ndzondelelo kicked an up-‘n-under and their wing regathered the ball in a rather freakish way as wing Mtimkulu allowed the ball to bounce off his arms, bouncing perfectly into the arms of the opponents’ wing who nearly got through. This seemed to spur them on and they surged at the Spur Itembelihle line with one of their forwards squeezing his hand through the ruck for another converted try.

Spur Itembelihle, now 5-14 behind threw everything into the attack, Wing Ayabonga Mteto was successful with a penalty goal after the home side infringed in front of their poles and Spur Itembelihle was back in the game, with the Ndzondelelo side struggling to keep up with the pace of the game. Spur Itembelihle now controlled the game and were very unlucky not to score when lock Nkosinathi Made passed over wing Mtimkulus head with an open try line in front of him! Spur Itembelihle kept on setting up phase after phase and the gap finally opened as wing Slovo Dzaka raced over to score in the corner for another unconverted try,

The final whistle went almost immediately after that with the home side’s fans swarming onto the field to congratulate their heroes. Credit must go to both side for the attacking rugby they played and to referee Jonathan Mouwers for the excellent way in which he handled the game. Spur Itembelihle now will have very little time to lick their wound before they take on the tough Newton Tech side and Grey High the following week.

The Potchefstroom Gimnasium first XV overturned a six point half-time deficit to beat Potchefstroom Volkskool 29-13 in their FNB Classic Clash on Saturday.

The character of the Gimmies players is something to be commendable because of their ability to comeback in the second-half of the game to take the win in what was a hard fought affair.

At half-time Volkies lead 13-7 which meant that Gimmies scored 22 unanswered points in the second-half to take the win.

Some good kicking as well as three tries in the second-half of the game was the difference between the two sides and Volkies did not have an answer to this onslaught from Gimmies.

A try, two conversions and a penalty from Gimmies flyhalf SJ Janse van Rensberg made the difference in the match and helped his side come from behind to win in front of a home crowd that would have also encouraged them on after a quiet first-half.

Gimmies mangaged to make it back-to-back wins against their rivals this year, is this the start of a trend?

The scorers:

For Potch Gimnasium:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Hattingh, Van Rensberg, Charslund
Cons: Hattingh 2, Van Rensberg
Pen: Hattingh

For Potch Volkskool:
Try: Hurn
Con: Campher
Pen: Campher 2

Potchefstroom Gimnasium: 15 Marchell Hattingh, 14 Keanu van der Merwe, 13 Eugene Booysen, 12 Wicus van der Westhuizen, 11 Shane Charslund, 10 SJ janse van Rensburg, 9 Garaan Kriek (captain), 8 Tobie Schlebusch, 7 Jan Welgemoed, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Ullrich Boshoff, 4 Albert Lubbe, 3 Kobus van Staden, 2 Ricon Pretorius, 1 Willem Bouwer

Potchefstroom Volkskool: 15 Ulrich Aspeling, 14 JP Pretorius, 13 DJ White, 12 Michael Hurn, 11 RP Campher, 10 Rikus Swart, 9 Eugene Hare, 8 Ruan Nel, 7 Jaco Hattingh, 6 Albert John, 5 Johan Potgieter, 4 Joshua van Niekerk, 3 Sidney Brits, 2 Dalton Viljoen, 1 Uys Pretorius. Replacements: 16 Hercus van Wyk, 17 Luaan Kruger, 18 Dewaldt Botha, 19 Jacobus van Breda, 20 JB du Plessis, 21 Ceaser Entres, 22 Dean Farnham, 23 AB Hill

In what was a highly entertaining FNB Classic Clash that saw the Rooi Bulle beat Middelburg High 29-16 to maintain their strangle hold on their rivals.

HTS made the best possible start to the game when they got the first points on the board through a try by their scrumhalf Rowan Gouws and he converted his own try to hand the hosts a 7-0 lead. This lead was cut by three when Middies flyhalf Jacques Bruce knocked over an early penalty to narrow the margin to 7-3.

The Rooi Bulle got their second try when wing Allen Muller went over for his first of three tries in the 14th minute of the match.

A bit of poor discipline from the visitors meant that Bruce could keep his side in with a shout in the second-half of the game after HTS lead 17-3 at half-time.

A try for Middies through wing Bennie Mashabane brought the score to 17-10 and along with two more penalties from the boot of Bruce it was a one point game.

The pressure on the Rooi Bulle seemed to spark them into life and they oushed hard and scored two more tries from Muller and took the game out beyond doubt and HTS, seeminly, cruised away to a 29-16 win.

Scorers:

HTS Middelburg 29 – Tries: Allen Muller (3), Rowan Gouws. Conversions: Gouws (3). Penalty: Gouws. Middelburg HS 16 – Try: Bennie Maschabane. Conversion: Jacques Bruce. Penalties: Bruce (3). 

The teams:

Hoërskool Middelburg: 15 Lunga Mahlangu, 14 Jan Wieger-Wijma, 13 Ruben Fourie, 12 Christo Meyer, 11 Bennie Mashabane, 10 Jacques Bruce (vice-captain), 9 Xander Kritzinger, 8 Louw de Waal, 7 Joubert du Toit, 6 Hansie Naudé, 5 Uys Ehlers, 4 Christopher van Leeuwen, 3 Dewald Pretorius, 2 Henru Joubert, 1 Willem Steenkamp (captain).

Replacements: 16 Reinier Pienaar, 17 Willie Botha, 18 CJ Pretorius, 19 Dylan McKechnie, 20 Francois Middel, 21 Phillip Grobler, 22 Jan Cornelius, 23 Vusi Blaauw, 24 Zothane Ngcobo, 25 Thulane Mkhonto.

HTS Middelburg: 15 Ruan du Plooy, 14 Allen Muller, 13 Lourens Basson, 12 George Fritz, 11 Jan Rens, 10 Lohan Bennett, 9 Rowan Gouws, 8 Christo de Jager, 7 Waldo Morris, 6 Willandré Kotzenberg (captain), 5 Michael Basson, 4 Petrus du Busson, 3 Stephan Liebenberg, 2 Nelius Smit, 1 JP Zaayman.

Replacements: 16 Ruan Groenewald, 17 Kyle van Aswegen, 18 Kyle Brits, 19 Chris Robbertse, 20 Stephan Enslin.