Counter-attacking supremos Garsfontein are Noordvaal Cup Champions again

The Garsfontein Bere are the 2024 Noordvaal Cup champions, having successfully defended their title against fellow Pretoria East macro school Waterkloof. In a fitting grand final, the match ended in the most exciting finish imaginable, but it must have been nerve-wracking for Garsfontein, who had to cling to their slim lead in the last few minutes with only 12 players on the field.

The word “defend” was crucial to the outcome. When the visitors, Garsfontein, were under pressure early in the match, they came up with the goods to repel Klofies’ bid for 7-pointers. The home team was limited to two penalties when their form and territorial dominance in the opening quarter suggested they could have had a bigger lead than just 6-0.

Finally, Klofies managed to cross the white chalk, thanks to their captain Riwan van Aswegen, after a good run into space and an assist pass by young flyhalf Dennis Obi. The conversion made it 13-0, a much better scoreboard reflection of the events on the field.

Garsfontein then struck back with a try by prop Luan van der Berg, which was aided by some good teamwork from the match officials after the talented referee was just out of view of the ball being controlled and grounded.

The Bere then grabbed the lead in a play that truly defined their performance in the final. Their counter-attacking game was second to none and was aided by slick passing in tricky, windy weather. Not to be underestimated was their ability to turn possession into points, something that really set them apart from Klofies on the day. The architect and finisher of their second try was outside centre Ruan Enslin, who had a match to be proud of as both a strike player and a pass distributor. He was assisted by wing Brooklyn Newman, who produced an exquisite in-field pass while under pressure near the touchline. Suddenly the pendulum had swang and Garsies were leading 14-13.

Klofies then missed a couple of shots at goal but made up for it when fullback Ronan Bastiaanse punted a beauty from inside his own half that rolled into touch 5 metres from the Garsies tryline just before halftime, while Garsies had a man in the bin. The solid lineout platform allowed bulldozing hooker Ruan Jacobs to bash over. Bastiaanse converted to give Kloof a deserved 20-14 lead at the break.

The Bere were a different animal in the second half. The first 22 minutes effectively sealed the game with three memorable tries.

The first of the three tries came off a turnover deep in their own half, which offered the space to spread the ball wide. Fullback, goal-kicker, and head boy Handre Maree timed an elegant kick ahead, which was latched onto by speedy left winger Junaide Stuart after he outpaced the chasing defenders.

The second try of the trio was again the result of a turnover and great cohesion between the Garsies players after swiftly getting the ball into space. The timing of the pop to No. 8 Stephan Pretorius couldn’t have been better, releasing the strong-on-his-feet ball runner onto a line from which he couldn’t be brought down.

The third try was yet another instance of Garsfontein using their hands and running off the ball to perfection, as wing Stuart gave a delayed inside pass to flyhalf Junaide Passenie, who outpaced the cover defence to score.

Suddenly, it was 31-20 to the visitors.

The team spirit of the Klofies Blue Tornadoes was far from defeated. Through sheer determination, they won a penalty, allowing them to set up a red-zone lineout from which their rolling maul earned them a penalty try, reducing the deficit to 31-27. It was game on!

A dab ahead to the halfway line by Klofies seemed to drop perfectly into the space in front of a rushing Garsies replacement, Xian Erasmus, who was desperate to catch it before the bounce. What could so easily have been a 50:50 ball after it hit the turf was scooped up brilliantly by Erasmus, who managed to continue his forward progress at full tilt, getting to within one great tackle of a vital try. His teammate, the alert inside centre Luann Olivier, who would later be named Player of the Match, was first to arrive in support. With work still to be done, Olivier used all his skill, experience, and willpower to reach over and score near the left corner, making it 36-27 to Garsies.

From the kickoff, Klofies went on the attack again, and a dangerous tackle offence reduced Garsies to 13 players on the park, giving Klofies a shot at goal to narrow the lead to a one-score 36-30 game.

The first of a series of crucial plays followed. Klofies’ ace centre Happy Makate, celebrating his 50th cap, was put into space and used it to beat defenders and make plenty of metres. However, the vital decision saw him pick the outside line when his support was queuing up on the inside with little defence in front of them. He was brought to ground, but the passage involved a high tackle, resulting in yet another card being shown to a Garsfontein player.

Garsies were left with just a dozen players to defend yet another 5-metre lineout drive. After their resolve seemed to desert them under pressure, it returned in a big way, and it was the Klofies who ran out of composure to complete the task. Garsies’ defence caused an unforced error, and they managed to win their scrum and then control possession until the clock ran out. They kicked the ball off the field to secure their fourth title, the second under passionate head coach Johan du Plessis.

The match proved to be a thriller of note and a great advert for South Africa’s biggest and best cup!