Bishops topples Milnerton, Outeniqua too much for Worcester Gim
The visitors, Bishops – thanks to a hat-trick of tries from their captain Daniel van den Heever – withstood a strong challenge from Milnerton High to win a high-scoring thriller 42-36 on Saturday.
Early on, the hosts snatched the lead, scoring through their captain, centre Morgan Lodewyk, and fullback Chadlin Sellidon, two of their most influential players.
Last season, Milnerton fought back from 10-28 down to score a shock 31-28 win on the Piley Rees, and they appeared to be on course for back-to-back wins over Bishops when they went into the halftime break 31-21 to the good.
Bishops, though, has finished matches strongly throughout the season and that ability to push it hard until the final whistle brought coach Sam Mofokeng his first win with the team in his second match in charge.
Next Saturday, Milnerton faces a stern examination from Stellenberg. Bishops, meanwhile, will prepare for a southern suburbs’ derby against Wynberg on 16 August.
On the Garden route, Outeniqua hosted Worcester Gimnasium in George on Saturday and raced away to a comfortable 45-13 win.
The Kwaggas are renowned for their silky backline skills, but their forwards dominated the game on this occasion, with five of their seven tries going to members of the pack.
Despite being forced to play off of the backfoot, Worcester had their moments. A chip-and-chase from wing Leagon Brooks almost resulted in a try, but when he was brought down only two metres short of the line, fullback Darren Murphy picked up and sniped through the opposition forward pack for an entertaining five-pointer.
Those moments, though, were few and far between for the visitors. Outeniqua dominated all facets of the contest and was 14 points clear at halftime, leading 24-10.
In the second half, the Kwaggas continued to create chances, and that brought them some fine scores, especially a try in the 53rd minute try.
They played themselves to within five metres of the Worcester Gim try line by hitting the ball up through a series of phases. Then, some misdirection from Cee-Jay Arends brought Outeniqua points. Picking up from the back of a ruck, the scrumhalf took a couple of steps sideways before finding prop, Zacary Meyer, with an inside ball. He burst through a gap and the home side increased their total by five points.
Despite the 32-point defeat, Worcester did not have a particularly bad game on defence. They didn’t miss many tackles, but they struggled to prevent the Kwaggas’ forwards from getting over the gain line. They also lost the battle at the breakdown and, too often, overcommitted, which resulted in a lot of space for Outeniqua to exploit.
Scorers
Bishops 42 (21) – Tries: Daniel van den Heever (3), Cole Robyntjies, Max Marr, Boytjie Fyfer. Conversions: Eljaron Geduld (6); Milnerton 36 (31) – Tries: Leo Weber (2), Morgan Lodewyk, Chadlin Sellidon, Zaide Vigeland, Lincoln Corner. Conversions: Chadlin Sellidon (3).
Outeniqua 45 (24) – Tries: Matthew Prins, Keenan Myners, Zacary Meyer, Aldo Gouws, Sirr Lourens, Grant Savage, Hayden Luiters. Conversions: Virgil Pockpas (4), Tyron Marias (no.22); Worcester Gim 13 (10) – Tries: Darren Murphy, Leagon Brooks. Penalty: Lohenzel Tshabatau.
Other Results
U19 – Milnerton II 10 Bishops II 42, Milnerton III 7 Bishops III 49; Outeniqua II 72 Worcester Gim II 5, Outeniqua IV 10 Worcester Gim III 10.
U16 – Milnerton A 10 Bishops A 45, Milnerton B 0 Bishops B 52; Outeniqua A 60 Worcester Gim A 26, Outeniqua B 26 Worcester Gim B 7.
U15 – Milnerton A 15 Bishops A 14, Milnerton B 0 Bishops B 22, Milnerton C 7 Bishops C 45; Outeniqua A 53 Worcester Gim A 7, Outeniqua B 25 Worcester Gim B 17.
U14 – Milnerton A 5 Bishops A 15, Milnerton B 0 Bishops B 22, Milnerton C 0 Bishops C 36; Outeniqua A 50 Worcester Gim A 7, Outeniqua B 38 Worcester Gim B 5.
