Boland Landbou edges thriller in George
Outeniqua fell to a second successive defeat on Saturday, against the mighty farmers from Boland Landbou, but the visitors had to sweat to hold on to their narrow lead in George.
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Last weekend, Noordheuwel exacted retribution by beating the Kwaggas 28-19 at their 101-Year Festival, after losing to the side from George in 2023.
On Saturday, Boland also got one back against the boys from Outeniqua to avenge their 15-18 loss in Paarl in 2022.
The visitors struck first, against the run of play, when Jayden Brits and Enslin Claassen combined on the counterattack to send Brits over for the first score of the game.
His opposite number, Ellie Meyer, reduced the deficit for Outeniqua and exchanged penalty goals with the visiting flyhalf, Retagan van Rooi, to bring the score to 10-6 at halftime.
The home team kept battering at Boland’s defences, but they could not find a way through. They also defended well to contain the visitors, and it was a back-and-forth for large parts of the game.
Boland Landbou eventually prised open the hosts’ defence when Van Rooi sent over the big flanker, Karst Smits, in the second half to stretch their lead to 15-6. With 13 minutes remaining the game, they had to defend for dear life.
Meyer and his flyhalf, Andrew Stopforth, were prominent for the home team in the final stanza, with Outeniqua putting the visitors under immense pressure as the game drew towards its conclusion.
With just 10 minutes remaining, Stopforth stormed over for Outeniqua’s only try and Meyer reduced the deficit to two points with the extras.
With their tails up, the Kwaggas kept asking questions of Boland Landbou right up to the final whistle, but the visitors stood firm and repelled their attacks.
Unlike the last time these two met, there would be no last-minute winner, with the Boland boys confidently seeing out the remainder of the match to add a second hard-fought win to their record for the season.
Juan Kleinhans powered his way over the line in the final moments, but the visitors’ defence around the ruck remained sharp to the very end and they managed to prevent the big prop from grounding the ball, which brought the contest to a thrilling close.
Last weekend, at the AFGRI-Sports Day, the Bolanders were made to work hard for a 29-18 win over Milnerton. They will look forward to taking next weekend off before they head to the St John’s Easter Festival in Johannesburg at the end of the month.
Outeniqua will aim to bounce back immediately at the NMI Toyota North-South Rugby Tournament in Pretoria where they will face Pretoria Boys High and Menlopark.
Scorers
Boland Landbou 15 (10) – Tries: Jayden Brits, Karst Smits. Conversion: Retagan van Rooi. Penalty: Van Rooi. Outeniqua 13 (6) – Try: Andrew Stopforth. Conversion: Ellie Meyer. Penalties: Meyer (2).
Other results
u19 – Boland Landbou II 22, Outeniqua II 12; Boland Landbou III 14, Outeniqua III 13; Boland Landbou IV 13, York 11; Boland Landbou V 27, Wittedrif 12; Boland Landbou VI 22, Outeniqua IV 5; Boland Landbou VII 19, York II 0.
u16 – Boland Landbou A 20, Outeniqua A 5; Boland Landbou B 25, Outeniqua B 14; York A 27, Boland Landbou C 22.
u15 – Boland Landbou A 21, Outeniqua A 5; Boland Landbou B 7, Outeniqua B 5; York A 24, Boland Landbou C 12; Outeniqua C 38, Boland Landbou 5.
u14 – Outeniqua A 34, Boland Landbou A 3; Outeniqua B 12, Boland Landbou B 8; York A 14, Boland Landbou C 10; Boland Landbou D 17, Outeniqua C 14.
