Graeme powers to Makhanda derby win at St Andrew’s College

The brilliant predatory instincts of centre and captain Erin Nelson sparked Graeme College to a memorable win over St Andrew’s College in their clash on the St Andrew’s Lower Field in Makhanda on Saturday.

Dominating the first half to lead 22-3 at the break, the Graemians held off a fighting comeback from their old rivals to cross for two more tries in the second half and secure a well-deserved victory in their rivalry of almost a century-and-a-half, which has been dominated by St Andrew’s.

Nelson has grown into one of the most exciting players in SA schools rugby and, although he didn’t cross the whitewash himself, he produced another influential display in midfield.

Within 14 minutes, Graeme had built a 12-0 lead, with Nelson slicing through the defence twice to set up tries for fullback Lucritia Magau and scrumhalf Luke Doyle.

Flyhalf Ibenathi Kondile added a third try when the Graeme forwards drove powerfully for the line, picking up the ball to force his way over.

St Andrew’s only got onto the board just before halftime through a penalty by Will Stevens, but they came out after the break with a renewed mindset and a determination to take the fight to their opponents.

First, prop Sivathi Mjalo powered over for a try and then, from the kick-off, lock Josh van Zyl crashed through some would-be Graeme defenders on a memorable 60-metre run downfield. When he was eventually hauled in, St Andrew’s was able to recycle the ball for Stevens to dash over.

At 22-15, the game was back in the balance, but then came a crucial period during which Graeme was reduced to 14 men after Doyle was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle.

But instead of St Andrew’s taking control, Graeme played with great common sense, holding onto possession and forcing their opponents to make all the play.

From one such move, pacy wing Asakhe Ranuga picked up a loose ball near the halfway line, and there was nobody in front of him as he raced for the line.

Then Graeme went on the attack again and, eventually, flank Akho Tonjeni forced his way over after brave defence from St Andrew’s to extend the visitors’ lead to a commanding 34-15.

Although St Andrew’s delivered one more riposte through wing Qawe Madikizela, there were only five minutes left after that, and Graeme was able to manage play until the end to send their supporters slightly delirious.

Other matches

In another result which bucked the trend in the Eastern Cape, Daniel Pienaar held on in a thrilling finish to their Tinara Cup game against Brandwag, winning 23-22.

The match was tightly contested throughout, with the Tigers kicking three penalties and being awarded a penalty try, which left them trailing 16-17 at halftime.

They then took a crucial lead with a converted try early in the second half (23-17), during which both sides battled for supremacy.

Eventually, it was Brandwag who broke the deadlock when the Tigers lost possession, and scrumhalf Zanick Carolus ran 50 metres before unloading to fullback Rezanio Petrus for a try to make it a one-point game.

However, the conversion went past the upright and, although there were still 18 minutes left, Daniel Pienaar threw everything into defence to keep their Kariega rivals at bay.

Hudson Park produced a solid performance on Friday, outplaying Framesby 43-26. In a mid-week encounter, Selborne scored 36 points in each half, proving too strong for Ooskus Gymnasium, as they rumbled to a 72-15 victory.

In Gqeberha, Pearson and King Edward VII (KES), from Johannesburg, had a ding-dong battle, and eventually settled for a 15-15 draw. In Humansdorp, Nico Malan held the edge against Punt, of Mossel Bay, to win 24-13.

Scorers

Graeme College 34 (22) – Tries: Lucritia Magau, Luke Doyle, Ibenathi Kondile, Asakhe Ranga, Akho Tonjeni. Penalty: Nelson. Conversions: Nelson (3). St Andrew’s College 22 (3) – Tries: Sivatho Mjali, Will Stevens, Qawe Madikizela. Penalty: Stevens. Conversions: Stevens (2).

Selborne 72 (36) – Tries: Josh McKay, Lwandle Bacela (3), Othando Magadla, Daniel van Biljon (2), Travis Enslin, Connor Fowles, Rosh Els, Hlumelo Molosi, Daniel Rushmere. Conversions: Riley Hansel (6). Ooskus Gymnasium 15 (3) – Tries: Kwagga Liebenberg, Tiaan Frazer. Penalty: Ethan Jansen. Conversion: Jansen

Brandwag 22 (17) – Tries: Josh Badenhorst, Zanick Carolus, Luan Greeff, Rezanio Petrus. Conversion: Petrus. Daniel Pienaar 23 (16) – not available

Pearson 15 (8) – Tries: Henrico Ferreira, Liyda Maswana. Penalty: Keano Beling. Conversion: Beling. KES 15 (7) – not available