STANDARD BANK CAPE SCHOOLS RUGBY WEEK DAY 2
STANDARD BANK CAPE SCHOOLS RUGBY WEEK, IN ASSOCIATION WITH POWERADE AND SPUR
DAY TWO REPORT
Grey High fought off a terrific onslaught from a determined Boland Landbou team to keep their unbeaten record on another day of exciting rugby in the Standard Bank Cape Schools Rugby Week, in association with Powerade and Spur, at Grey High in Port Elizabeth on Monday (June 29).
In a match where the result was in the balance until the final whistle, the hosts won 16-10 to join Eastern Cape counterparts Selborne and Cape Town outfit SACS as the only sides to have won both their matches after the second day of the tournament.
Selborne proved just too sharp in defeating Rondebosch 34-17, while SACS withstood a courageous second half comeback from Queen’s to secure a 27-20 triumph.
In the opening match of the day, Muir shaded the Standard Bank XV in a tight arm wrestle, winning 15-11, while Paarl Gymnasium again showed their splendid running skills by defeating Dale 29-14.
Boland Landbou drew first blood against Grey when right wing Sergull van Niekerk forced his way over in the corner, but the home side hit back thanks to a move sparked by flyhalf Curwin Bosch in his own half. Scrumhalf David Masterson was on hand to take the final pass, scampering over for a fine Grey riposte.
Bosch’s boot then kept the home team in front, but Boland Landbou showed superb fighting spirit late in the second half to hit back with some powerful forward mauling for scrumhalf Deon Carstens to dart over for a try, closing the gap to 13-10.
With only minutes remaining, Bosch struck with a long-range drop goal, but the Bolanders were not done. They claimed possession from the kick-off and stormed into Grey’s 22-metre area, only for the PE boys to force a penalty, which Bosch gratefully hoofed into the adjacent street to secure another hard-earned win.
Selborne made a strong start against Rondebosch, who were given a hard draw by having to face the Eastern Cape’s top two schools in their opening matches. They scored two converted tries in the first 10 minutes and with No 2 Cole van Tonder helping himself to a brace of tries, the East London team were able to maintain their advantage despite Rondebosch hitting back with three excellent tries of their own.
Queen’s will rue their slow start against SACS when they found themselves 14-0 down after five minutes as centres Ciaran Dayaram and Nicholas Redelinghuys exploited gaps in the midfield.
SACS added two more tries through flank Dylan Hadzigrigoriou to lead 24-0 after 17 minutes before Queen’s hit back when fullback Olwethu Foslag knifed through the defence to make it 24-7 at halftime. Queen’s had much the better of the second half as wing Awiwe Mancotywa and No 8 Pumelele Daweti added tries to Foslag’s first half strike, but ultimately the bad start they made cost them as they ran out of time trying to make up the deficit.
Dale also paid the penalty by letting Paarl Gymnasium do most of the scoring in the first half of the game as the Western Cape side went 19-0 ahead in the 33rd minute. Flyhalf Courtney Winnaar then crossed for two tries, which he converted, to close the gap to 19-14, but Paarl Gym regained control through a penalty try after a strong forward maul, and they settled matters when centre Andries Viljoen cut through for a brilliant try under the posts.
The final round of fixtures on Wednesday are: 09:00: Boland Landbou v Selborne; 10:15: Dale v Standard Bank XV; 11:30: Grey High v SACS; 12.40: Rondebosch v Muir; 14:00: Paarl Gym v Queen’s
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