Big first half spurs Grey College to win at Grey High
Grey College delivered a masterclass in precision rugby to blow away their rivals Grey High, winning their King Price Derby Series clash 48-15 on a windy Kolisi Field, in Gqeberha, on Saturday.
The home team may have been disappointed with their lack of accuracy at times, but that doesn’t detract from the ruthlessly clinical performance of Grey College, who swept in for six tries in the first half to surge into a massive 38-0 lead at the break.
As committed as they were on defence, so, too, were they lethal on attack, which was typified by their third try which began with the Gqeberha team camped in the Grey College 22.
The Bloem boys were quick to sense an opportunity for a counter-ruck, which won them the ball, and it was quickly sent to outstanding fullback Lamla Mgedezi, who went on a thrilling 70-metre run for a try which knocked the wind out of the home team’s sails.
While Grey High had their chances early on, they struggled to break down the visiting defence. In contrast, Grey College wasted no time in seizing their opportunities. Within the first 16 minutes, they had gone over for two tries from their powerful mauls.
They had already shown their cohesion up front when, from a lineout five metres from their line, they drove the Grey High pack back some 15 metres to give themselves some breathing space.
It was no surprise then, when the home team infringed twice in succession, that Grey College kicked for touch and then drove Xander Smit over for their first try and Alexi Tyropolis for their second.
The magical Mgedezi then showed his pace before powerful centre Ethan Adams proved unstoppable on the left flank when Grey College went on the attack again.
Smit registered his second try after another driving maul and the visitors showed their confidence and attacking skill when they won an opposing lineout on the halfway line with the clock showing that it was time up for halftime.
Instead of kicking the ball safely into touch, Grey College launched another offensive. They spread the ball wide and Mgedezi delivered a deft back-of-the-hand pass for wing Benjamin van den Berg to sprint over for the first of his two tries.
At halftime, matters looked ominous for the Grey High team, but, to their credit, they stayed in the fight until the end, and, in fact, outscored their opponents by three tries to two in the second half.
The first came in the 44th minute when a slick backline move saw centre Bradley Myburgh completely bamboozle the College defence to score near the poles.
Later, lively wing Noah Mbizi was on hand to score two outstanding tries, which exhibited his great commitment and pace as he weaved his way through the visiting defence.
Those tries were negated somewhat by Grey College’s strong running, with centre O’Ryan Klein, who was in the thick of things, helping the visitors to cross for further tries by Van den Berg and left-wing Thristan Maree.
Van den Berg’s second try was set up by another masterful contribution from Mgedezi. When Grey High kicked deep into the College 22, all it did was give the classy fullback a chance to show what he could do as he slipped past defenders while turning defence into attack. Eventually, the ball was eventually recycled down the right flank and there was nothing the home defence could do to plug all the gaps.
While it was another convincing win for Grey College, there was plenty of excitement throughout the match and it added another exciting chapter to add to the outstanding derby between two schools who enjoy a rich pedigree of sport.
In other matches, Marlow Agricultural suffered another agonising defeat when they went down 24-26 to Pearson in Nxuba, while Brandwag and Nico Malan cruised to comfortable wins over DF Malherbe (109-0) and Daniel Pienaar (38-8) respectively in Kariega.
Scorers:
Grey College 48 (38) – Tries: Xander Smit (2), Benjamin van den Berg (2), Alexi Tyropolis, Lamla Mgedezi, Ethan Adams, Thristan Maree. Conversions: O’Ryan Klein (4). Grey High School 15 (0) – Tries: Noah Mbizi (2), Bradley Myburgh.
