Jekyll & Hyde on hand to help Welkom Gim defeat Jim Fouche

 

24 February 2024

Excitement was the name of the game as Jim Fouche and Welkom Gymnasium combined to keep spectators and the streaming audience on the edges of their seats during their season opening match at the President Steyn Sports Day in Bloemfontein.

The lead changed hands six times in windy conditions before Gim managed to pull away and record a 31-13 win, a score which in no way gives justice to how close the match really was.

Welkom Gim flyhalf Renaldo Kiewiet proved what a genius he is by being key to a hard-fought victory. The creative juices didn’t come without some high risk execution though which added to the thrilling play, hence the reference to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

The challenging wind conditions made executing lineouts effectively difficult.

JF grabbed the lead in the early stages as their fullback Tiaan Strydom made a successful strike on the right side.

Then as part of the story of their match, JF missed a significant scoring opportunity . The setback came after a charge down near the try line and a subsequent loss of possession by one of their players over the whitewash.

JF then incurred penalties due to ill-discipline, impacting their chances to apply more pressure and also missed penalty shot at goal.

From a quickly taken free kick, Gim’s pivot Kiewiet’s exhibited skillful play, holding and delivering a precise pass to lankly number 8 Ethan Jones, resulting in an untouched and effortless try.

The halftime score stood at 7-5 in favour of Gim, who would have the wind advantage in the second half.

Following a Gim yellow card, JF regained the lead at 8-7.

Kiewiet struck an excellent drop goal after a solid lineout, pushing the Griffon’s based school back in front at 10-7.

A bit of deja vu followed. Despite Gim’s valiant efforts, a crucial mistake occurred when they failed to ground the ball over the tryline after a promising attack, leading to a turnover.

JF capitalized on the resultant 5m scrum, showcasing skillful ball movement and teamwork, opening up the goalline for their number 10 Aldrick Johnson to complete a great team try. JF led 13-10.

Discipline issues plagued Gim, with two quick yellow cards (effective red for one player) reducing them to 13 players. Once again JF left points on the field as the ensuing penalty was missed.

In a remarkable display of strategy, 13-man Gim relied on the expertise of Kiewiet at 10, who executed a well-timed dink ahead, regathered and linked with a couple of Gim teammates who using precise passes and angled runs got the ball back into the hands of their talented flyhalf to finish and convert. Gim then led 17-13.

Despite having an opportunity to slow the game down while they had two in the sinbin, Gim hastily punted a penalty long and deep into JF territory without finding touch. Their chase was good and they recovered the bouncing ball and almost scored another try. Instead, they were called back to a spot inside the JF redzone, awarded another penalty but failed to capitalize on the tap-and-go, as JF intercepted and carried the ball half the length of the field into Gim’s half. After doing all the hard yards, the Bloem boys then made a weak pass from the base of the ruck resulted in knock-on.

JF’s mistakes disrupted their continuity. They also had a player carded. Gim took full advantage of a turnover. First they crashed it up. No one was more impressive at this during the match than strong flank Rovaun Van Niekerk and he was assisted by second row teammates D Beuken and Jayden Auld.  Gim then added tempo on the righthand side. Showcasing soft hands and well-timed shoulder runs on the inside and outside before finding width and the overlap to allow the big man Alex Olivier to cross in the corner. Kiewiet’s prekick ritual looked a lot like a celebration dance as he slotted the difficult kick to extend the Gim lead to 24-13.

JF won a free kick at a scrum and had to throw caution to the wind but in spite of it being late in the game, Gim were as alert as ever and good linespeed presented the intercept from a lazy pass on the inside. Switched on Leano Williams raced ±70m to dot down under the sticks. The tap over brought the match to an end at 31-13.
TEAM WELKOM GIM TEAM JIM FOUCHE
1 Buchle Ngxabayi u18 1 SW van der Merwe
2 Kganya Molapo u18 2 Ian Nel (O/K)
3 Alexander Olivier u18 3 Darren Matthews
4 D Beuken u18 4 J.W Stone
5 Jayden Auld u18 5 Franco Oberholzer
6 Rovaun Van Niekerk u18 6 Nathan Van Breda
7 Rylen Kirsten u18 7 Brendan Weyers
8 Ethan Jones u19 8 Qian Moller
9 Kabelo Ramakatsa u18 9 Duard Bester
10 Renaldo Kiewiet u19 10 Alldrick Johnson
11 Dylan Kemp u18 11 IJ Jonker (C)
12 Jayden Weideman u18 12 Heinrich Hattingh
13 Joshua Coertzen u18 13 Bendre Vermaak
14 Terence Tsholo u18 14 Hanro Marias
15 Bokang Lesenyeho u18 15 Christian Strydom
16 Kananelo Tutubala u18 16 Itumeleng Mokate
17 Tsiamo Mamatela u19 17 Jandre Opperman
18 Bokamoso Gabuse u17 18 Rico Neethling
19 Ethan Africa u18 19 Milan Marais
20 Ayden Bezuidenhout u18 20 Dian van Wyk
21 Rewaldo Farmer u18 21 Eduan vd Westhuizen
22 Leano Williams u17 22 Ashton Krediet
23 Hloni Mokotjo u18 23 Wiandru Wiese
24 24 Justin Groenewald
25 25
Coach ROEAN BEZUIDENHOUT Coach CORNE ERASMUS

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