02-Mar-13. Glenwood and Framesby treated early arriving fans at the Kings Park Stadium in Durban to the only real excitement at the venue on the day. With the main game, a Super Rugby match between the Sharks and the Stormers turning out to be a dull affair, the 50-points aggregate score in the schoolboy rugby curtain raiser proved to be an advert of how rugby is meant to be played from a tactical point of view. In the end Glenwood won 26-24 after leading 12-9 at the break.
As expected from any school’s first match of a season, there were teething problems. Most notably many of the passes were off target and in a few instances hands let players down. The start-stop nature of the game however did not dampen the enthusiasm of either side on attack. They made every attempt to use the ball to good effect and when it paid off, the moves generated and the finishing was spectacular to watch. The match also produced the healthy balance of forward and backline play that so often makes schoolboy rugby a better game to watch than senior pro rugby these days.
Glenwood got off to a great start. In the 5th minute a kick ahead was retrieved and their left wing Sparks Ngcobo got his side firmly onto the front foot. From here good handling saw the ball end up in the hands of dynamic outside centre Nkululeko Mcuma, who weaved his magic and crossed the chalk. Scrumhalf Kyle Gerhard, who assumed all the Glenwood place-kicking duties, missed the conversion to leave the score at 5-0.
Framesby responded in the 12th via the educated left boot of flyhalf and captain Ernst Stapelberg after Glenwood had been pinged for being in front of their clearance kicker. This reduced the Glenwood lead to 5-3. Although Stapelberg showed signs of rustiness in his passing game at times, he produced enough quality moments to show just why so many professional rugby scouts rate him as one of the top and most highly sort after schoolboy players in the country this year.
In their eagerness to shift the ball wide, Framesby turned down a gift 3-point penalty from close and in front in the 16th minute in favour of a tap-and-go. It proved to be a mistake as they turned over possession shortly thereafter. Fortunately they made up for this error a few minutes later when Stapelberg landed penalty kick from a far more difficult range to put the Port Elizabeth school 6-5 ahead. One of the Eastern Cape visitors’ star players on the day, outside centre Dewald van Eyk showed his attacking skills at every opportunity. He had been prominent in the build-up that gave Framesby the field position to take the lead. Van Eyk was again in the thick of things in the 25th minute. He intercepted a pass and carried the ball from inside his half downtown to inside the Glenwood 22, before he was hauled in. Glenwood infringed at the resulting breakdown and Stapelberg landed the easy penalty to extend Framesby’s lead to 9-5.
Glenwood then attempted to up the tempo and the game loosened up a bit. Framesby’s defensive organisation was unsettled and with Glenwood making passes stick during this passage of play, they opened a good overlap on the big blindside in the 29th minute. The Durban school came close but could not take full advantage despite lock Matthew Harmsworth making a good carry well into the redzone. They did get the feed to the set-scrum where Framesby had halted their progress and were able to capitalise on this. No.8 Jaco Coetzee launched a useful short side break off the tail. Replacement flyhalf Jacques Dumas then made the most of bad pass to keep the next recycled phase alive as Glenwood attacked the openside. Dumas fed to inside centre Akhona Nela who distributed the first of his two brilliant offloads during the game, this one being an improvised one-handed effort that ensured the go-forward momentum was not lost. Fullback Morné Joubert joined the attack at pace and make the decisive line-breaking metres. Ngcobo rounded off a teamwork try by dotting down under the posts – the term “letting the ball do all the talking” rang true in this backline execution. Gerhard’s kick made it 12-9 to Glenwood.
Glenwood then missed a kickable penalty to extend their lead. Framesby were however not done for the half yet. They ended it on the Glenwood try-line. This was the result of a good kick and chase that brought about a turnover, followed by some good flowing interchanges. However with just inches to go, Framesby agonisingly knocked the ball on and the stop in play brought the half to an end at 12-9 in Glenwood’s favour.
At the start of the second half Glenwood were again pinged for being in front of the kicker and Stapelberg timed another kick to perfection to level matters at 12-12.
Whatever Glenwood coach Sean Erasmus had said to his team at halftime about attacking the spaces then seemed to pay off handsomely. Glenwood looked to play expansive rugby and in the 41st minute Nela produced his second high quality pass to put Joubert into a gap. The young fullback carried for 50-metres before feeding to right wing Corne Vermaak. Vermaak was stopped in the corner near the try-line but the ball was recycled and went wide and left in a hurry where Harmsworth was able to maximise on a huge overlap and score his team’s third try. Gerhard succeeded with the relatively difficult conversion to put Glenwood back in front at 19-12.
Straight from the subsequent restart Glenwood went wide once more and had the Framesby defence under pressure and scrambling in next to no time at all. Had the timing of a crucial pass been better, Glenwood might well have been rewarded with a try for their adventurous play. There was clearly space on the outside and Glenwood continued to do a fine job of identifying it.
Although the backs were doing the flashy attention grabbing bits, the Glenwood forwards deserved a pat on the back as well. They had started to get the upper-hand in the forward exchanges and in the setpieces, which laid a good platform for offence. In the 44th minute Glenwood went further ahaead and they had their pack to thank for it. Vermaak’s accurate touch-finder from a penalty had set up an attacking lineout near the Framesby 22-metre line. The go-to man in the lineout, Mzwandile Mazibuko rose beautifully to take clean ball in the middle and pave the way for the Green Machine to set an almost perfect rolling maul. Once it started moving forward, the maul proved to be unstoppable. Captain and flank Rupert Kay emerged from the mass of green jersey wearing bodies that had crashed over the try-line with ball in hand. Gerhard once again added the extras and Glenwood were into a comfortable lead at 26-12.
Characteristically by now Glenwood attacked once more from the kickoff and made good ground on their favoured left-hand side; only for a poor final pass to undo all the good work. In the 51st minute another promising Glenwood attack on the right this time looked to have exposed Framesby’s marking system and although it was still far out, a Glenwood 5-pointer was on the cards until a knock-on with very little by way of defenders in front of the recipient player also saw that chance die a sudden death. Later on Mazibuko collected another quality lineout ball with his team deep inside Framesby territory. This time Framesby expertly broke up the maul but from the ruck Glenwood’s Coetzee did ever so well to punch a hole in the “D”. His excellent individualism did not earn its just reward when he dropped the ball in the act of diving over to score the try. All indications were that small unforced errors were costing Glenwood dearly.
By this stage, Framesby seemed be playing without any ball and failing to shut down the Glenwood backs adequately. In truth it looked like the PE team had run out of steam. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Framesby were made of much sterner stuff and proceeded to turn the game on its head during the last 10-minutes. Their fightback was spearheaded by a number of players who stood out on the day. Left wing Tiaan Daniell produced a promising carry through midfield traffic on the right to set Framesby on the way in the 60th minute. In every game there is a one player who stands out above the rest and it this one Framesby flanker Arnu Botha produced an outstanding performance with ball in hand to deserve a man of the match type honour. Botha came up with another of his big carries to keep the drive moving towards the Glenwood line. Framesby then shifted the ball left and it was centre van Eyk who pinned his ears back and finished brilliantly in the corner. Once again Stapelberg made a difficult outside angle kick from the corner look like a piece of cake. At 26-19 it was game on!
Framesby made the cardinal sin of giving away possession at the next kickoff and soon Glenwood had a chance to finish things off but missed a sitter of a penalty. Although the clock was ticking down Framesby responded by playing with tremendous composure. They did not panic and instead showed structure and purpose to their attacks. Number 19 replacement Jaques du Preez had come on and made a couple of penetrating runs to help get his team over the advantage line, nevertheless by in large it was team cohesion that manufactured Framesby’s chances. In the last move of the game, Framesby shifted the ball down the line with speed and directness. The straightness and superior handling produced just enough room for fullback Divo Wegemoed to crash over in the left corner for a spectacular try with the hooter sounding. The ever reliable kicker Stapelberg, who had also been influential during the game could not match his earlier success with the boot and pushed the difficult conversion wide.
Glenwood had held on just-just to win an entertaining game 26-24, despite a spirited comeback by Framesby. It was a great match to watch unfold and equally wonderful to see the the comradery amongst the players from both teams after the game.
Also deserving to have praise heaped upon them are Glenwood’s schoolboys and the school’s outstanding band who must surely rate amongst the best and most vocal school supporters in the country.
Well greetings 2013 bloggers! Going to be a great rugby season. IMO I think Glenwood, College, Westville, Hilton and Kearsney will all be going hammer and tong this year with very close results and unexpected victories. It’s the quiet schools going about there business are the scary ones! See you guys soon! Cold one at KERF perhaps? Cheers
The lights
The “Lighties” are talking about it – Ha Ha – really !
@GreenBlooded: Glad I was not the only one nodding off
@Pedantic: Can’t say I have seen Keaton this year but then I haven’t seen all the teams yet. He did finish last year at GW though.
@Grasshopper: The one locked played 4ths and 5ths last year. He decided he was going to play firsts and spent his holidays working really hard. There are a few guys who are still getting the fitness, etc levels up to par.
I haven’t heard anything about lights but I hope they are decent enough for camera work. Both DHS and Port Natal’s lights leave a lot to be desired.
@beet, who picked the GK side and who was involved in the coaching?
@Westers: I think Grant Khomo 2011 representation has a lot to do with the expectations
@Grasshopper, I am not sure who has great expectations of Westville this year. They should be good, but this years G12’s did not blow the opposition away whilst coming up through the ranks. As was pointed out elsewhere on this site, they lost to Hilton as U16 and I am sure they lost other games along the way as well. They do have some useful players and hopefully with some G11’s they will gel into a good side. Kearsney definitely top in my books followed by whichever team gels as a unit earliest in the season.
@all, not sure about the lights at Glenwood.They always used to have lights on the main building going onto the field, but not good enough for sport….although the boarders would still try and play touch in the dark there. If they do put in lights the boarders will play touch past midnight! Lights is a good idea if there are plans to have night games and tourno’s or even have Super 15 teams train there in the evenings…costly though.
@Star, agreed. House had a good season overall definitely due to synergy and a happy team. They did not blow anyone away and had a very light season but they performed far better than anyone expected. They did still lose to Glenwood early in the season which might have been reversed if played later in the season, same could be said about the Westville vs Glenwood game, Westville lost steam towards the end. Again the word ‘expectation’ is apt, where there is less expectation there is less pressure. With less pressure the team can play it’s natural game and just have fun. I heard the Glenwood 2012 side didn’t look like they were having fun. They were very disrupted by events outside of their doing so the misery was compiled. A feel sorry for those boys who were in their last year having to cope with all those outside events and the expectation. 2013 is a new year and hopefully with it comes a fresh attitude and fresh game plan. Westville and Kearsney will need to learn to cope with the expectation this year and only time will tell if they can…..staying level headed and grounded is the key.
@GreenBlooded: I think they will follow DHS’s lead here. DHS lights are great for rugga but not being much of a cricket fan, I would not know if they serve a good purpose in cricket season.
@beet: Not sure how this will be done. You have to light the field from both ends so in cricket season you end up with light poles in the middle of the cricket field. It will also cost a fortune if it is done correctly. Lighting sports fields is not cheap – capital and running costs.
@Greenwood: It’s always more viable for a school that uses it’s cricket field for rugby as well to get lights. And especially at Glenwood where there is limited field space. I’m actually surprised they did not make this decision a few years back
All the Glenwood Bloggers
Rumour has it that Glenwood will be getting lights – as in night matches
Star
must agree with you on the better Vibe coming out of Glenwood this year i felt it at Porties and
on Saturday – maybe more relaxed with less expectations for the season ahead
@ Grassy- Sorry I am not making a general a dig at GWs 10 years but explaining how I felt in a particular (2012) year and giving reasons for performance(and non). Do you disagree? I am not sure what Westville has got to do with it as I was comparing House to GW and I stand by my comments which were proved over the season. To be honest I think there seems to be far better vibe coming out of GW for this season and I am sure all GW supporters will be in for a treat.
@Star, low blow boet, I expected more from you. What about Westville’s over-aged hooker/prop who rolled his ankle? Who knows who else escaped public scrutiny because of Westville’s independent auditor (not just A team players). Glenwood had one controversial year (2012), what about the 10 years before that when the school has done well on the rugga field and produced some excellent players?
@ Gungets- I am a great believer that (with all things been equal) a happy team is a successful team. Being son’s of old boys would mean that they would have interacted socially. 5 years on the ground does mean stronger bonds and that they would be playing for each other. I just noticed such a strong contrast with GW who had lost their leadership spine and had a 22 year old captain on the wing. There were also the undercurrents with the imports and so a strong team on paper flattered to deceive.
@Gungets Tuft: And in case you thought that it was entirely my idea, snot correct John. Beet had the idea, I just threw in my 2c worth with the ratings which Beet has not seen from me.
@star: I think there may be correlations. But there has to be consistency in selection and ethos over along period, and a tacit admission from the school that there will be poor years where the home grown produces a lemon or two rather than Oak trees – gnome sane. The Old Boys and sponsors need to be able to live with that, rather than having a prem baby when their school has a temporary slump.
@ Gungets- Last year House would have had 148 out of 150. There were also 7 sons of old boys. They were the top team in KZN. I wonder if there is a correlation.
@GreenBlooded: It’s time consuming exercise to collect that info but my guess is that Glenwood will come out with the lowest % in KZN (along with Northwood this year) which is surprising because up to now they have had the best rugby programme, so one would have thought they would have been able to rely more on their own players coming through than other KZN schools. For example I can see the need for Northwood to bring in players. Nwood has generally struggled in terms of rugby results. They need a springboard just to catch up. If they can show prospective rugby parents positive signs, it should make it easier to get quality players at gr.8 level in future. Glenwood have no such problems. They have been producing the results for years now.
I’ve very interested in the growth of professionalism at school level and it is going to be interesting to see where the moral acceptability level of imports is drawn. Already we have seen a fallout in Pretoria. This issue could well develop into the next KZN crisis. National rules would be great.
Anyway for now there is nothing wrong with imports. It’s really just the moral consideration.
@Greenblooded, I’ve suggested this before but methinks the coaches will never give this info freely, it’s like an age audit. One can work it out obviously if they asked around.
@Gungets Tuft: Great Idea!! I wonder how many coaches will front up with the required info? Beet – if you want to start a thread that will run into 500+ comments – this will be it. A comparison table of all the top schools 1st team squads: name, age, grade started at the school, any years of absence, Grade 7 origin, where from etc. Would make for very interesting reading. The idea of a ‘home grown’ % is excellent.
Any of you GWD guys read the article in the Mercury this morning ? There was a letter to the editor from a neutral spectator who praised the Glenwood boys for the spirit and the vibe and the “gees” from the boys on Saturday – I was concerned at times that the boys and the band were overdoing it – The writer however saw this as a huge plus for the school
Gungets – your’e right – I did hear the stories about the GWD “smaller pack” but at the Porties
Nite series there were some big guys in the GWD Invitiation team – on querying this I was told they were 3rd’s & 4ths – I was surprised at the pack size on Saturday but more pleasantly surprised by the GWD backline – when they settle down as the season goes they should be OK
Framesby and Glenwood enjoy a good relationship and this preseason matchup was an excellent chance for these two well matched teams to test themselves for the upcoming season. Framesby 1st coach Louis Gerber was happy with day’s proceedings saying, “The drive was just part of it, we approached it like a training camp. It was a great experience for the kids.” And that “Glenwood has a better side than last year, they’ll have a good season.”
Well, that is good news coming from an opposition coach.
@GreenBlooded: I thought we had already done that for Northwood, that they have decided that it is possible to find top class, 1st team players, in countries that do not play rugby …. which escapes me. I think the fact that we hold Glenwood to a higher standard is a compliment – we do not believe Northwood worthy of criticism given their lack of regard for the spirit of the headmasters agreement. Let’s check out the history of those kids and we will find they have spend years in a rugby playing country.
For the record I think the same about Hilton who play fast and loose in the poaching game.
Support the “dissection” – something like a table of the 1st Fifteen squads and the number of years at the school for each player. Teams could then be rated at a % of home grown. 10 points for being there from grade 8, 8 for grade 9, 6 for grade 10, 2 for grade 11, zip for grade 12. Score out of 150.
Left out the 4 pointer on purpose, I don’t think arriving in Gr12 counts for anything, especially if they move into the BE. Going into the BE puts the lie to all the stories about family relocating because if that was true they would be staying at home, or staying in the BE at their old school if that school had a BE. And arriving in the final weeks of gr11 is also nice and transparent …
At some stage my school might fall foul, so all of this comes with a large slice of caution …
@Grasshopper: Just seen the report. Seems like there are a few ‘former players’ there. One from Glenwood. Don’t hold you breath for the condemnation. It will probably be explained away by “they are getting the opportunity of a world class eduction”. Or am I confusing my private schools here?
Seems like Jonas is all set to go tomorrow night. The bump was not serious.
@Greenblooded, and the Hilton imports? Does anyone ever check the other schools teams with a fine tooth comb?
@Gungets Tuft: In the interests of fairness, if we are going to disect the Glenwood team and put it under the microscope, shouldn’t the same be done for some of the other schools? It seems we are kicking off the season once again with Glenwood held to a far stricter standard than everyone else. Same old, same old. What about the Northwood imports?
@Gungets, again Cyndi will know the detail. I believe it’s just 2 props who were GK last year, so came in at grade 10 in accordance with the headmasters agreement. Not sure about the lock, but heard he may have been 3rd’s or 4th’s last year. Flyhalf was there last year at Under16 I believe, so I think all the ducks are in a row. The two shorter and smaller props obviously dropped to 2nd’s and the locks who I thought would be the locks have moved to flank so beefed up the pack but slowed it down too. Again, I don’t agree with imports either within the HM agreement or not…
@Greenwood: Have to ask questions about that front row. Earlier in the year everyone was talking about how small the pack was going to be, now we see that there are massive 110kg props, a new hooker (or at least not the expected hooker), a lock that we have not seen (might have ben seen in colours other than green at the night series???) and the fly-half has apparently arrived in the last year.
Perhaps the starting point would be Grasshoppers “possibles list” from a while back to what we are seeing now. Take out the 6 we know about from U16 days, add a few okes from the minor teams that have just found their legs, then break the news about the others??
From a “small front row” to a machine weighing in at 850kg??
@star:
more info I’m sitting on and must post
@ Horsy (continued) beat Westville at Westville( so very competitive) Also with Wiessing, Maseko and Wright they have a very strong leadership spine. Not quite as good as House last year but very close. They will be dark horses this year.
@ Horsy- Hilton have 11 grade 11s back which as U16
All Black
Been grilling My lightie in GR11 on rumours about imports to Glenwood – he said he heard something early this year but says he has not seen any evidence of this – he is buddies with most 1st team players
PaulRoos gaan vanjaar in groen truie uitdraf.
Sien hierbo.
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Do you know if his U16 brother Keaton also moved to Hilton?
Strange how quiet it is when Glenwood lose players, yet when they get players in, it’s headline news
@All Black, I heard just 2 and in grade 10 last year so grade 11 this year, props I believe…..I’m not that close to the powers that be so not sure. Cyndi will know more. I too don’t like bringing in players as it does affect the morale of those who have had to shift downwards…
I heard that Glenwood have got 5 new players for the season? Is this true. Not that it has anything to do with me either, but is this not a problem when dealing with team spirit etc. Maybe these are just rumours? Anyone know? Grasshopper?
http://www.rugby15.co.za/2013/03/hilton-college-1st-xv-rugby-team-2013/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
I see Jayson has made the starting line-up. He is a giant though. Seems to me a good team but not up to the standards of last year
@All, it’s very early season and both sides will most likely improve. There will also be a few injuries along the way, so who knows how good either side will be come end of the season. These early season games are tough of both teams but you have to start somewhere. A 2 point difference shows they were pretty evenly matched sides..
@Mike: It’s impossible to answer that question without knowing something about the 2nd choice flyhalf at Framesby.
Stapelberg has a good boot on him and accounted of 14 points but he didn’t produce that form he had at Craven Week on Sat. I’d like to see Framesby when their understanding amongst the backs has settled. They turned over some position and lost initiative a few times because of early season misunderstanding.
* took the flyhalf off. Sorry for my bad grammar
For those of you who were at the match I’d like to pose a question. Lets say for some reason the Framesby coach to their flyhalf off after five minutes, what would the scoreline have been ? I’m not saying Framesby don’t have a great team – because I think they do, but I do think that Ernst Stapelberg is the cornerstone to the Framesby side.
@Greenwood: Then you will be playing over the cricket pitch and the lower teams will have a field 30m wide
here’s an idea – widen Dixons to 70M – give the backline more space !!!
@beet: Yup – KP is just a fraction short of the max 70m width allowed. Most school fields are 55-60m wide although there is no regulation on this – just a function of available space in most cases.
Based on Framesby’s preseason rating by some of the EC guys, they looked better than I expected. They are a gutsy team with some good players.
I had an idea that the Glenwood line was going to be good and I imagine that KP is a bit wider than a normal school field as well which helps when spreading the ball wide.
The Glenwood pack was also a bit of surprise to me. They were a lot bigger than I expected. I think they could be in the region of ±820kg which is big. Their lineout went really well for a first game up and despite the size of the 2 props who must easily be 110kgs +, on a hot day, they came good in the scrums in the second half, so some good energy reserves there.
@Greenwood: Compared to the Sharks/Stomers game, I think a game of Bingo at the local retirement village would have been more entertaining. Almost fell asleep. Thank goodness for the Glenwood/Framesby game – would have been a waste of diesel otherwise.
many neutrals who saw the GWD – Framesby match and the main match rate the schoolboy one as by far the most enjoyable – yup ! lots of bad handling by the Greens, more so than by Framesby but Glenwood does show promise for the season
The sharks should arrange more SBR games BUT loss of home ground advantage could be an issue here
Framesby came very close to snatching a draw from the jaws of defeat and credit must go to them for the way they came back
@Queenian: Framesby played very well. Glenwood played even better. It was a great advert for school rugby – both teams running the ball from everywhere and some good physical forward play. I don’t think the game was as close as the scoreline suggests though – Glenwood let 3 tries go begging by fumbling the final pass to an open line. Their forwards were also dominant. Framesby showed guts and determination to come back from a 26-12 deficit at one point to almost draw the game. For both teams to get together in a group huddle afterwards was quite fitting. Framesby will do very well this year if they continue to play as they did.
Seems like it was a close game how did Framesby play
@Greenwood
I would love to see the video, my friends in the crowd sent score updates via txt, BBM and eMail, it must have been a great day for fans of the Green Machine.
best part for me was the rolling maul try by Glenwood – took a video of this & will -excuse the pun – try and post it on youtube – for some reason cannot load video to my PC
enjoyed the vibe created by the Glenwood boys – we sat to the right of them and got the full monty – goose pimple stuff – a unique experience for me and the misses
also looking forward to Wednesays games at KP
@BOG: Ye would like to know what the other results were.
@beet: On Saturday, at Fichardtpark School in Bloem, something like 4500 kids gathered, from all over the FS and beyond, for a days sport, mostly rugby.Do you have any results? I know that GCB beat Voortrekker(Bethlehem) 46-5 and the Cherries beat Lanboudal like 26-15(?), but Id really like to know the other results, eg Grey U16 vs Noordkaap
@Grasshopper:
haha the cricket game vs Northwood had to be mentioned. Being 47 all out is a really tight spot. To get out of it is exceptional.
@Horsie, you do know this blog is about the Glenwood vs Framesby game, gotta love your passion fro DHS. I can relate though
@GreenBlooded:
Oh I know.Glenwood also impressed me at the D and D gala. Just were overshadowed by School. But yes, great school spirit by GWD
Well done DHS 1st team cricket! They were bowled out for 47 by Northwood and managed to bowl Northwood out for 44 to win by 3 runs. Great comeback boys!!!
@Grasshopper: Not sure what the nature of the injury was – it looked to me like he took a bad knock very early on. He wasn’t the same afterwards and was wisely subbed. Hopefully not serious
My above assesment was written purely from a Glenwood perspective – but yes Framesby deserve credit for a gutsy comeback in the last 15 minutes – I also think Glenwood may have lost a little focus at the same time making some basic defensive pattern errors.
Also the Glenwood boys vocal skills from up in the rafters did the school proud. Even Horsey, with his new found passion for war cries, would have been mighty impressed.
@Cyndi, checked out your pics, as good as always. There are some big boys in this year’s side, especially in the front row. This team looks like it should compete with some of the bigger packs, which is a relief. Our backs look immense! Let’s hope Jonas is not too badly injured and is back soon. Looking forward to Kearsney in a few weeks :-)
It was a really enjoyable game and it was great to see the Framesby team join us in the Glenwood supporters corner for the Sharks team.
I have posted the photos on my Facebook page – it was quite something taking photos from that height.
Watch out for Jaco Coetzee, great talent,big and quite fast. Was unlucky to be injured during KZN trials last year
…..I meant this season.
@Amalekite: Quite correct – normal early season stuff – not a major problem. A great pity that Curtis Jonas had to leave the field so early – he was looking really good until he took a bad knock early on and wasn’t quite the same again. Very impressed by his distribution and ability to read the game. He is going to be a playmaker of note for Glenwood next season.
@GreenBlooded: Well done to Glenwood. Not unusual to have handling errors in your first proper game.
Good game – certainly far more entertaining than the slop dished up by the Sharks and the Stormers.
From a Glenwood perspective – 3 tries left on the field due to fumbling the final pass. It was far more Glenwood than the final score suggests. I think Glenwood dominated up front which set a great platform to run off. Both teams ran the ball from everywhere – Glenwood were far more creative and so got the tries. Glenwood need to look at why they went from a 26-12 advantage at one point to nearly losing the game – in fact if the try on the full time siren was converted it would have been a 26 all draw. In then end, the 2 concerns were poor handling at critical stages (pre-season blues / white line fever) and just a lack of concentration (mental fitness?) in the last 15 minutes. But they will take far more positives out of this encounter – great forward play, very expressive backline. Bodes well for the season if they keep their heads below the clouds.
Gw take it 26-24. 4 tries to 2.
GW ahead 12-9 Ht. 2 tries to 0