Charlie Hofmeyr remains unbeaten, Strand in a thrilling draw in Worcester
Luan Giliomee took centre stage again in Ceres on the weekend, slotting a last-minute penalty from more than 50m out, to keep Charlie Hofmeyr‘s perfect record intact with a 30-27 win over Swartland.
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Charlies started the game strongly, outscoring the visitors 17-9 in the first half after tries by Izha-vin van Wyk and Daniel Bakkes.
Swartland’s outstanding centre, Carlo van der Merwe, kept them within striking range, with his educated boot contributing 17 points to his side’s total off the kicking tee.
After the break, Kailen Kotze and Tyrese Barlow scored tries for the visitors, and Van der Merwe drove them into a 24-20 lead with 20 minutes left to play.
The home team’s electric inside centre, Philip du Plessis, regained the lead for Charlies in the 58th minute, combining with Giliomee for the umpteenth time this season to unlock the defence.
When Van der Merwe levelled the scores again, with less than five minutes to play, it looked like the visitors might secure a draw, but Giliomee stepped up to take the winning kick from within his own half.
Giliomee, in an earlier interview with SuperSport Schools Plus, had said he admired Handré Pollard‘s ability to land clutch kicks under pressure. On Saturday, he emulated the Springbok flyhalf’s excellence in the biggest moments.
Meanwhile, a spirited second-half-comeback saw Bellville THS claim a spectacular win against Parel Vallei.
The Somerset West outfit led 19-5 at halftime, having executed their set pieces well while sticking to their structures.
The Bellville boys kept hammering away at the visitors, though, and a hat-trick by their livewire outside centre, Gladewyne Magala, brought them back into the contest in the second stanza.
The halfback pairing of Conner Smith and Chad Rinquest was equally exciting, with both going over for five-pointers, and Smith struck a magnificent drop goal to give his team a 29-27 lead with about three minutes to go.
Porterville‘s big no. 8, Joshua Steenkamp, also crossed for three tries as they thumped Jan van Riebeeck 76-3.
Robertson kept their impressive run of form alive with a 49-32 victory over Hermanus.
Jaydan van Niekerk starred at flyhalf for the Robbies again, and their nippy winger, Winsor de Koker, breached the Hermanus defence twice to help drive his side to victory.
Melkbosstrand had just enough to edge past Hottentots-Holland 18-17 in another thriller on Saturday.
The stage had been set for an exciting weekend of schoolboy rugby on Friday evening, when Worcester Gimnasium and Hoërskool Strand battled to a 31-31 stalemate.
The contest might not have produced a winner, but it did produce another magnificent display of the exciting running brand of rugby both schools take pride in, and their supporters were entertained to the final moments.
Strand’s fiery flanker, Ashraf Fanie, scored twice to help them fight back from a 17-31 deficit.
SCORERS
Charlie Hofmeyr 30 (17) – Tries: Izha-vin van Wyk, Daniel Bakkes, Philip du Plessis. Conversions: Luan Giliomee (3). Penalties: Giliomee (3). Swartland 27 (9) – Tries: Kailen Kotze, Tyrese Barlow. Conversion: Carlo van der Merwe. Penalties: Van der Merwe (5)
Bellville THS 34 (5) – Tries: Gladewyne Magala (3), Chad Rinquest, Conner Smith. Conversions: Carter Ryk (3). Drop goal: Smith. Parel Vallei 27 (19) – Tries: Luchen Meyer, Andre Engelbrecht, Iviwe Majingo, Renato Tosi. Conversions: Shudley Rhoda (2). Penalty: Meyer.
Porterville 76 – Tries: Joshua Steenkamp (3), Brenden September (2), MacAllistair Boer (2), Linrique Mason, Dandre Killian, Henre Blom, Krynauw Marais, Arno Venter. Conversions: Boer (8). Jan van Riebeeck 3.
Robertson 49 – Tries: Winsor de Koker (2), Jaydan van Niekerk, Kyle Cedras, Tyron Matthys, Groban van Wyk. Doelskoppe: Van Niekerk (5). Strafdoelle: Van Niekerk (3). Hermanus 32.
Hoërskool Overberg 40 – Tries: Pieter du Toit, Johan Beukes, Favian Arendse, Bradwill Mackenzie, Franco Griessel, Jade Macpherson. Dirkie Uys 7.
Labori 31 – Tries: Christiaan Kershoff (2), Joshua Gempies (2), Miguel Britz. Doelskoppe: Xavier Bothma (2). Wellington High 0.
Worcester Gimnasium 31 – Tries: Alungile Mothibe, Wilfred Slingers, Lukewin van Heerden, Waylan Pienaar, Armand Croeser. Conversions: Lohenzel Jansen (3). Strand 31 – Tries: Ashraf Fanie (2), Justin Phillips, Roeben Robinson, Lyle Julies. Conversions: Tyron Nicholas (2), Jaydan Steenkamp.
Other results
u19 – Melkbosstrand 18, Hoërskool Hottentots-Holland 17; Augsburg 32, Curro Langebaan 28; Bergvliet 17, Camps Bay High School 7.
