Golden Lions book their place in main match of Academy week with victory over the Sharks
The Golden Lions secured their spot in the final match of the Academy Week by beating the Sharks 25-15 with a dominant second-half performance.
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The tournament is being hosted at Jeppe in Johannesburg this year, and the home crowd were treated to a top-class display by the Lions.
The Jeppe scrumhalf, Bryce Samuel, stole the show with a phenomenal performance. His kicking around the ruck and decision-making was faultless and he was extremely alert, catching the Sharks off guard on a number of occasions.
The most impressive aspect of Samuel’s play, however, was his physicality in defence and when cleaning the rucks. The little scrummy was a treat to watch.
The Sharks began the game on the front foot with two early tries by Michaelhouse’s Carlyle Hawkins (eighth man) and his teammate from Maritzburg College, Swelihle Mbatha (fullback).
Mbatha was playing on the wing for this game and the dynamic speedster showed his athleticism, vaulting over an incoming defender to give the team from KZN a 12-3 lead after 15 minutes.
Ernesto Oersen, the winger from Monument, reduced the deficit for the Lions shortly after, but his team were still trailing by seven points, 15-8, at halftime.
Having absorbed the initial Sharks onslaught, the hosts completely dominated the second half and scored 17 unanswered points.
Samuel was the standout player for the Lions, but his teammates, Vusi Moyo (flyhalf), from King Edward VII and Henrico Germishuizen (eighth man) also played exceptionally well.
Moyo combined well with his scrum-half to direct the Lions’ attack and his territorial kicking was spot-on.
Germishuizen was a menace at the rucks and untiring in his work rate.
For the Sharks, the big Kearsney lock, Heinrich Fourie, was effective at the lineouts and caused the Lions some problems, and Nkulukelo Sithole, their centre from Maritzburg College also played well.
The Lions are looking like the team to beat this year, but they will be well aware that their opponents on Thursday have shown that they know how to win.
They face the Western Province Academy team in the final match after WP managed to protect their slender advantage against the Griffons to win 24-18.
Their Paul Roos eighthman, Reuben Kruger, was massive for them in the battle against the Griffons.
It looked like the Western Province team were dominating most facets of the game, but they were simply unable to get out of range of the Griffons, spearheaded by their stalwart flyhalf from Hoërskool Trio, Byron Bienas.
A brace by the ever-involved flanker from Wynberg Boys’ High, Aden da Costa, kept his side in front and WP managed to see out the game and secure their spot in the final match.
The Limpopo Blue Bulls had to rely on the kicking boot of their fullback from Hoërskool Pietersburg, Dian van Tonder, who slotted six penalties and two conversions for his team in their highly entertaining 32-26 victory against the LSEN XV who have been exceeding all expectations this week.
For the LSEN XV, their winger, Oarabile Tlhatlhedi, from Pro-Practicum, stood out for how well he organized his team, keeping them calm and making sure that they kept within striking range of their opponents on the scoreboard.
Scorers:
Golden Lions 30 (8) – Tries: Ernesto Oersen, Exauce Tshiamala, Zulu Khobane, Olunje Mehlomakulu. Conversions: Simphiwe Moyo (2). Penalties: Moyo (2). Sharks 15 (15) – Tries: Carlyle Hawkins, Swelihle Mbatha. Conversion: Luke Davidson. Penalty: Davidson
Western Province 24 (14) – Tries: Aden da Costa (2), Alfie Holm, Jannie Grobbelaar. Conversions: Marno Pretorius (2). Griffons 18 (3) – Tries: Arnold Ras, Laurenze Laminie. Coversion: Byron Bienas. Penalties:: Bienas (2).
Blue Bulls 28 (10) – Tries: Anwill Prins, Wade Williams. Conversions: Ruben Pienaar (2). Penalties: Pienaar (3). Sharks XV 10 (0) – Av Tukwayo, Unathi Mlotshwa.
Limpopo Blue Bulls 32 (19) – Tries: Jabulani Shayi (2). Conversions: Dian van Tonder (2). Penalties: Van Tonder (6). LSEN XV 26 (17) – Tries: Tyrese Brouers, Rodney van Rooyen. Conversions: Oarabile Tlhatlhedi (2). Penalties: Tlhatlhedi (4).
Day 3 fixtures:
Collard Field: 08:30 – Namibia vs Zimbabwe; 09:50 – Boland vs Cheetahs; 11:10 – Sharks vs Griffons; 12:30 – Lions vs WP.
White Field: 08:30 – Limpopo Blue Bulls vs SWD; 09:50 – Bulls vs Pumas; 11:10 – Eastern Province vs Griquas.
Top Right Field: 08:30 – Border vs LSEN XV; 09:50 – Sharks XV vs Leopards; 11:10 – Border CD vs Valke.
