Armitage steers Maroon Machine to comeback victory over Garsie Bere
A Masterful performance in the second half by Paul Roos Gimnasium replacement scrumhalf, Tristan Armitage, steered his side to a memorable victory of 21-18 over Garsfontein in the main match of the opening day of the Absa Wildeklawer Festival in Kimberley.
Armitage is the first-choice scrum-half of the Maroon Machine but started from the bench for this important clash against the Garsie Bere.
Armitage dictated play and added the necessary impetus to the team from Stellenbosch’s effort to turn the tide in the second half of the encounter.
In the first half, there were only one team on the field, and it was the Garsie Bere. The team from Pretoria led by 15-7 at the break. Tries by wingers Neil de Kock and Yuvrah George led the charge.
George’s try after a perfectly timed and weighted pass by flyhalf, Ruan Fluks, was one of the highlights of the match. Paul Roos only entered Garsies’ half of the pitch twice in the first half, with hooker, Lehan Barnard, crossing the tryline in one of these visits.
Paul Roos definitely also missed the boot of Travis Pheiffer at flyhalf, but his replacement, Daniel Whitehead‘s kicking at goal, also played a major role in their victory as he converted all three of his side’s tries. In the pack of forwards, Werner de Bruin (eighthman) was his side’s best player, while Cadynn Samuels (left wing) was dangerous every time he was put in possession.
The team from Pretoria, led by captain and eighthman Lourenz de Jager and hooker Justin Blom, led the physical charge up front.
The hosts, Diamantveld, gave their loyal supporters something to cheer about as they defeated Queen’s College by 40-29 with some exciting running rugby. Diamonds led 21-10 at half-time thanks to tries by Tyler Campher (fullback), Mikyle Muller (right wing) and Heinrich Swart (eighthman).
Campher was superb throughout, and it seemed that he had time to spare when in possession. They also managed to unlock space for their wings, Muller and LJ Buys, almost at will, against a side well known for its backline play.
The highlight of the match was, however, the try by the replacement scrumhalf, VJ Davids, which started mere metres from his own tryline. The home side’s forward also deserves a pat on the back as they came out on top in the physical battles.
Nico Malan of Humansdorp bagged a memorable 31-24 victory over EG Jansen of Boksburg.
Their fullback, Leighton Lawrence, was well-deservedly named Man of the Match for his performance. He had his kicking boots on and converted all four of his side’s tries and slotted a penalty, which proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Their flanker Erich van Zyl was a livewire and also deserves a mention.
Scorers:
Paul Roos Gimnasium 21 (7) – Tries: Lehan Barnard, Tristan Armitage, Werner de Bruin. Conversions: Daniel Whitehead (3). Garsfontein 18 (15) – Tries: Neil de Kock, Yuvrah George. Conversion: Ruan Fluks. Penalties: Fluks (2).
Diamantveld 40 (21) – Tries: Tyler Campher, Mikyle Muller, Heinrich Swart, LJ Buys, Wian Maritz, VJ Davids. Conversions: JG van Heerden (5). Queen’s College 29 (10) – Tries: Inganathi Mnunu, Zimi Deleki, Ncutu Kepe, Sinqobile Xhentsha. Conversions: Bongolwethu Nyakaza (2), Mnunu. Penalty: Nyakaza.
Nico Malan 31 (7) – Tries: Lleyton Minnie, Sima Ozah, Noah Krige, Tequane Koopman. Conversions: Leighton Lawrence (4). Penalty: Lawrence. EG Jansen 24 (10) – Tries: Tyrone Smith, Jaco Engelbrecht, Werner Breytendach, Aljay Oliver. Conversions: Renaldo October (2).
