Affies 41 Helpmekaar 33
Affies dominated first half and led 12-0 halftime. The home team’s two tries in this half were both great as it involved the continuity, many hands and the use of the full width of the field to stretch the alert Helpmekaar D. Affies fullback Migael de Lange was on fire and linked well as a playmaker in the build-ups to the tries. Affies however got a red card a few minutes before the break.
At start of second half Helpies gave away soft try from the kickoff. It looked like the writing was on the wall. Just when it appeared that HMK were going to get a hiding, their backs started playing well and the Jordie Barrett like centre Michael Benzien scores great try, which seem to lift the team and soon the HMK forwards started to get over advantage line, while the backs looked a lot sharper and were the better team in the second half. Affies however kept the scoreboard ticking before a penalty try to HMK brought the score to 34-28. Then HMK had a try disallowed after consultation with the AR. Had it counted, the visitors could have gone ahead. As it turned out, AHS then set up a lineout, mauled it up a bit before the outstanding Affies inside centre Janco Purchase scored the second of his two tries, via a sublime individual effort, to put the match out of reach. Helpies determination continued and they scored the last try of the match.
Boland Landbou 22 Marlow 17
Boland Landbou has put together a really good pack of forward. In addition to this, they are still waiting for one or two boys to find their feet and show their true potential. So it’s exciting times for the farm school just outside Paarl. The forwards form against Marlow was best described as workmanlike performance. The set-piece and maul worked well. Scrums too.
The challenge is the backline. Yes there are flashes of dangerous looking advances but is a work in progress with regards to synergy and good decision-making.
Marlow had a lousy build-up to the match, due to illness in their camp. As always they had a good lineout and maul, but BL did better than others before at breaking up their cohesion. This was reflected in their few visits to the BL 22. In addition to this, Marlow had a lower than normal turnout from their X-factor players, of which they are blessed with several.
So in spite of the score BL exercised a reasonable amount of P&T control throughout, showed good fitness and conditioning in the final 15-minutes, but still have a few areas to improve on to compete against the really big dogs.
Nevertheless in the context of the season, this might just prove to be a big win.
Stellenberg 20 Grey High 22
Weirdly Grey High seemed to come into this festival as a bit of a forgotten entity and one just expected Stellenberg, who enjoy a very high profile these days, to win.
However from the get-go, there was a good energy about Grey’s game. It looked balanced. The Eastern Cape boys started well before Stellenberg gained the ascendency.
Like Boland Landbou, Stellenberg are a force to be reckoned with up front and like BL, they tend to be tentative when the ball goes wide. The challenge for the Jade Brigade lies in developing a higher tempo strike play in the backs, otherwise as the season progresses, the linespeed of opponents will catch them flatfooted behind the advantage line more often than not.
The CTA Northern Suburb team had a useful 20-10 lead at the break but could not influence the scoreboard in the second half. Discipline at the breakdowns being amongst the problems they experienced.
Just like the first half, Grey started the second half well and soon claimed the lead, which they held onto. Stellenberg missed a penalty late on to win it.
Welkom Gim 31 Monument 26
Welkom Gim have become the Lion-slayers of 2023, having taken down their second Lions region big gun. The first being a decent Helpmekaar team.
For Monnas, the decision to go on a second long trip to the Northern Free State in the space of two weekends, probably was not a good idea, as the trips can be mentally sapping.
Their performance was described as one that lacked commitment to the cause.
For Welkom Gim, the upset win had its foundations set on a massive team effort on defence and the ability of the backline to create space and finish.
The home team’s hard work was put in on scrums and lineouts to catch up on this area of the game and as a result they got some better ball than in the Grey College game. The WG backs have a really good kicking plan in place (playing in the right areas and applying pressure) and they manage to execute effectively at this point.
The WG message against these heavier/stronger teams is simple, THEY want to dominate physically, THEY don’t always want to play, so double hit them with tackles, stop them on the gain line and do this effectively to ensure the boys stay in the game!
It’s rugby the world over. A crucial play on the far side of the field was a suspected forward pass, which was missed by the officials and therefore played into the hands of WG.
Waterkloof 8 Oakdale 5
Klofies were one of the three first teams omitted from the ABSA Wildeklawer this year which seemed to create place in the budget to attend the Outeniqua 100th. As things worked out, it turned out to be a long but worthwhile trip as they recorded an upset win, arguably one of the biggest scalps for SA Schools coach Cobus van Dyk as Kloof head coach. A win is a win but this was an ugly one. The match felt like it set a record for scrums. That’s how start-stop it was. Forgiveness because it happened to be the first big “hit-out” for either team and apart from rustiness, this is always a big emotional occasion for any schoolboy rugby player.
Lots of work ahead as Klofies prepare for Noord-Suid. The pack handled themselves well and the midfield combination of Reuven Ferreira and Happy Makate showed a lot of promise.
In their defence, the Oakdale did not look like a bad team at all. They have balance. A decent pack and a line with the ability to operate at pace. One could see that they have the firepower capable of creating opportunities to score but stats like missing eight lineouts and two kicks for touch to add to the handling errors, really undid their attacking continuity against WK.
Next up for Oakdale is a unique encounter against Rondebosch, the end result of building good relationships off the field.
Outeniqua 18 Noordheuwel 14
The Outeniqua boys seem to feel the pressure of the first big home match of the 100th year. They laid good foundations in the first half but could not influence the scoreboard in the manner they had hoped (and everyone who follows them expected). More clinical finishing could have seen them score four times in the first 25-minutes. Instead the teams swapped ends with the home team leading 7-3.
In spite of the domination, the Kwaggas just failed to fire on all cylinders. Things did not click.
It is too early to confirm but based on this performance by the Kwaggas 100th birthday team, it felt like a throwback to Paul Roos’ 150th birthday team of 2016. That PRG side was a useful team but when the season was done and dusted, it turned out that the blend of players helped to make the 2015 season a better one. The Kwaggas had an outstanding 2022 season. The evidence is there that their pack can perform to the same level but to at least mimic 2022 they will need improvements in their backline play, especially if they would like to finish the year as a Top 5 ranked team nationally.
For Krugersdorp based Nories, this main match was a huge acknowledgement of how far their rugby programme has come. In no small part it is thanks to having top coaches like Rocky Truter and now Botter Lourens heading up the rugby programme.
Nories made plenty of mistakes and a went on a few suicidal missions from deep inside their own half but there was character plus shown by their boys. They have the resources to perform well this season, if they can improve their concentration and manage their risk-reward attacking match better.
Worcester Gim 39 Brandwag (EP) 12
Brandwag are under no illusions that season. It will be a difficult campaign. They don’t have the usual fatties up front which usually characterises their teams and helps with the blueprint of the way they like to create platforms and play. The start of the match however showed that all is not lost, they have something there to work with and hopefully this will translate to some successes in 2023.
Worcester Gim is living proof of the power of exposure. They have been largely anonymous on a national scale ever since the Stoopstats website closed. Now within a few short weeks, a match at the Boland Landbou Rugby Day followed by this successful 100th birthday game at Outeniqua and with the Kearsney festival soon to come, the Bosvarke are suddenly within a few months, set to become part of the mainstream of SBR. And it is not like they don’t belong. Their New Zealand style of expansive space seeking attacking rugby is set to make them a crowd favourite. Interestingly during his match, a good deal of their focus was defence, simply because they trust the now trust the capabilities of their offence.
Paul Roos 17 Secunda 5
In the wake of the struggles of the 1st XVs of Nelspruit and HTS Middelburg, the powerhouses of Pumas rugby, there is positive in the region in the form of Secunda. It seems obvious that there is a bit of money behind the school’s rugby at the moment because their ambition is great. They beat Nellies, they won a chukka trial match against Hilton, they played in George against national powerhouse Paul Roos and in a few weeks they take on Kearsney and Nico Malan in Humansdorp. That is some serious travel to play against A-league teams.
During this match they gave a very good account of themselves.
Paul Roos is now just one year out from a return to the glory of battling for a national top three finish, something they believe that will be able to sustain for the foreseeable future. Expectations are always huge. Everyone wants to beat a powerhouse. The start was good, given that Secunda are not pushovers and had a number of games under the belt. However whether or not Paul Roos can stand up and be counted amongst the best in 2023 remains to be seen. The jury remains out for this year’s team.
Paarl Boys’ High 13 Drostdy 6
Boishaai were happy with the tempo, intensity and intent especially in the first half. The game struggled to gain and maintain any momentum due to lots of stoppages. The Paarl powerhouse will now focus on getting their fundamentals right in this short week before our next game against Durbanville.
Drostdy played well, even though they made some unforced errors. They forced Boishaai to get tries from quick tap-and-go situation as opposed to constructive open play, so defence in general play was quite solid. The Donkey have a young group with 11 Gr.11 players in their second team and a further 7 in their first team. They are building something that should get better as the season goes on, so they believe they are on the right path.
Thank you Beet. Good reflection