Fichies don’t just roar they can bite as well, just ask Diamantveld
History was yet again made the Hoërskool Fichardtpark during their annual Nashua Sports Day in Bloemfontein.
The Fichie Lions managed to secure their first ever victory over Hoërskool Diamantveld during the main match of the sports day.
The Lions defeated Diamonds by 33-27 in a tense but also entertaining match which also doubled as the opener for the Wesgrow league.
With the new regulations of the league meaning every team will face each other once and the winner being decided by their ranking at the end of the season, every game will be crucial this year.
Fichardtpark took the lead early with their winger, Janco Mollentze, breaking away down the touchline and scoring in the corner. Mollentze showed throughout the match that he has some serious pace.
Dailen Geldenhuys (flyhalf) then added the two points with a magnificent conversion at a difficult angle.
Diamantveld made their way, patiently, up the field to allow Diwan Muller (lock) to cross the try-line and reduce the deficit.
Shortly after, Fichardtpark’s lively scrumhalf, Devanté Claassen, caught the Diamonds’ defence off-guard, playing a penalty quickly and dotting down behind the line.
Claassen crossed the try-line again later, brilliantly gathering his own kick forward, but the try was disallowed as he was judged to be in touch after having been illegally impeded on by a Diamantveld defender.
Diamantveld responded, applying pressure from the kickoff which ultimately forced the error allowing Kyle Taute (center) to recover a loose ball and dive over the line for the Diamonds’ second.
Fichardtpark looked set to go into halftime leading by four, courtesy of the successful conversions by Dailen Geldenhuys, before Jaco Janse van Rensburg burst over to extend their lead to 19-12 at halftime.
Nathan Dodd, Fichardtpark’s lock, scored the fourth try for Fichies shortly after his second-row partner and captein, Jaco Grobbelaar, channeled his inner winger to break away down the side. Grobbelaar will without a doubt be a strong contender to represent the Free State at the Craven Week later this year in George.
Though Fichardtpark looked the more confident side at this point, Diamantveld calmly kept applying pressure and enjoyed a period of dominance as they scored twice through Valentino Lenge (winger) and De Villiers Strauss (hooker) reducing the deficit to two again.
Diamantveld had an opportunity to take the lead, but a long-range penalty attempt by replacement flyhalf, Simon Liversage, hit the post.
After a period of breathless defence, Fichardtpark conceded another penalty, allowing Simon Liversage a second attempt which he converted to give the Diamonds the lead for the first time in the match.
At this point the visitors seemed to have the upper hand with time running out on the clock, but, failing to secure the kickoff, Diamantveld allowed Fichies a final opportunity to seize the game, and they did.
Jansen van Rensburg played a brilliant setpiece move from the back of the scrum to go over for his second and secure the win in front of an ecstatic home crowd.
The final five minutes of the match were wild and unorganized as both teams were out on their feet, desperately trying to secure possession.
In the end, Fichies held out for a well-deserved win, rounding off their sports day in style and kicking off their season in the best possible way.
Landboudal and Goudveld also produced a thriller of a match, with Landboudal edging it with a penalty kick in the final seconds of the game.
In what was a tightly contested game throughout, it was the boot of fullback, Vuyani Moore, that differentiated the two sides in the end, Landboudal winning 25-22.
Goudveld took an early lead owing to tries created by their powerful forward pack and finished off by Pieter Reyneke (flanker) and Kabous du Plooy (hooker).
But it was the Landboudal backline who provided the spark for them as their winger, Barry Pretorius, scored two superb tries in succession, before their hooker, Kobus Davel, also scored to give them a 15-12 lead at halftime.
Goudveld kept playing structurally well, patiently adding pressure, with their fullback, Ruben Crous, pinning Landboudal in their own half with his educated boot.
Landboudal seemed to play with more intensity though, as was evident as AJ Burger (Flanker) wrestled the ball out of his opposition’s possession to score and extend the lead for the boys from Jacobsdal.
Tries by Schalk du Plessis (center) and Joshua Coertzen (prop) levelled the game up, but whereas Goudveld could not find the accuracy to convert, Landboudal’s fullback, Moore, could barely put a foot wrong during the match.
They called upon their talented fullback to attempt to convert a penalty in the final play of the match, which he duly converted, calm as you’d like, giving Landboudal a three-point victory margin over their counterparts from Gauteng.
Marlow proved to be too strong for JF. Both Josiah Weideman (center) and Burgert van Heerden (Nr. 8) scored twice for the team from Cradock and Arno Nel (lock) also added his name to the scoresheet with a try.
HD Aucamp (hooker) and Burgert van Heerden played pivotal roles in the match. Carrying the ball strongly and staying solid in the defence.
Stefan Venter (hooker) and Heinrich Hattingh (fullback) stood out for Jim Fouché, but the Bloemfonteiners were outmuscled and outplayed by the visiting team.
Marlow won 31-12, stating their intent for the season and showing that they will be a force to be reckoned with this year.
Hentie Cilliers also improved on their performance of last week to beat Louis Botha 12-5.
Scorers:
Fichardtpark 33 (19) – Tries: Jaco Janse van Rensburg (2), Janco Mollentze, Devanté Claassen, Nathan Dodd. Conversions: Dailen Geldenhuys (4) Diamantveld 27 (12) – Tries: Diwan Muller, Kyle Taute, Valentino Lenge, De Villiers Straus. Conversions: Marco Mathewson (2). Penalty: Simon Liversage.
Landboudal 25 (15) – Tries: Barry Pretorius (2), Kobus Davel, AJ Burger. Conversion: Vuyani Moore. Penalty: Vuyani Moore. Goudveld 22 (12) – Tries: Pieter Reyneke, Kabous du Plooy, Schalk du Plessis, Joshua Coertzen. Conversion: Pieter Reyneke.
Marlow 31 (24) – Tries: Josiah Weideman (2), Arno Nel, Burgert van Heerden (2). Conversions: Aiden de Villiers (3). Jim Fouché 12 (0) – Tries: SW van der Merwe, Calvin Bolt. Conversion: Tristan van der Walt.
Hentie Cilliers 12 (5) – Tries: Ashwon Mellen, Mosa Sesedi. Conversion: Sipho Dzingwa. Louis Botha 5 (0) – Try: Paseka Mokoena.
Aliwal-Noord 10 (0) – Tries: Regard Vorster (2). St Andrew’s School 5 (0) – Try: Matthew Fletcher.
