Grey College bag famous victory over Paarl Gim during Noord/Suid
If there was any doubt – one thing is for sure and that is that Grey College means business this year.
The team from Bloemfontein equaled their biggest ever victory over Paarl Gimnasium when they emphatically won the clash by 33-12 between the two sides during the opening day of the NMI Toyota Menlyn Noord/Suid-tournament in Pretoria.
This equaled the victory of 34-13 back in 2005. What made today’s victory even more impressive was the fact that Paarl Gimnasium won the previous two encounters in 2022 (22-17) and 2021 (18-16).
They were without a doubt eyeing a third successive victory over their Bloemfontein counterparts.
Earlier in the day when Gimmies’ second stringers also managed to defeat Grey it seemed that the goal of three victories on the trot was not that far off. Fast-forward a couple of hours down the line and the 21 points difference tell a whole other story.
The pack of forwards of Grey College is without a doubt one of their weapons this season. Their eighthman, JJ Theron, showed his class and scored a brace of tries. But the whole pack of forwards deserve a pat on the back for laying the foundation for this famous victory.
The lock Marno Stopforth was also outstanding.
For Paarl Gimnasium their flyhalf, Kyle Smith, as well as their hooker, Jannie Grobbelaar, could feel happy with their performances.
Glenwood secured a 39-33 victory over Hoërskool Nelspruit earlier in the day with their right wing, Okanta Chijundu, dotting down four times.
The Nelspruit Rhinos’ right wing, Ian Wood, also completed a hat-trick of tries as his team fought back in the second half. The Grasshoppers led comfortably by 21-7 at the break.
Besides Chijundu the victors centre Johandre van Rooyen as well as the fullback, Jaco Williams, enjoyed solid performances.
Scorers:
Grey College 33 (21) – Tries: JJ Theron (2), Benito Goeda, Jean Erasmus, Vincent Wolhuter. Conversions: Ian van der Merwe (4). Paarl Gimnasium 12 (0) – Tries: Jannie Grobbelaar, Xander Mynhardt. Conversion: Kyle Smith.
Glenwood 39 (22) – Tries: Okanta Chijindu (4), Bakhosibakhe Gamede, Jaco Williams, Johandre van Rooyen. Conversions: Andrew Martins, Williams. Hoërskool Nelspruit 33 (7) – Tries: Ian Wood (3), Ryan Venter, Luke Poison. Conversions: Kian van Tonder (4).
Watch the games of Day 1 again on SuperSport Schools:
| nt_header_0 | nt_header_1 | nt_header_2 | nt_header_3 | nt_header_4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | Waterkloof | vs | HTS Drostdy | https://bit.ly/KlofiesDonkies2023 |
| 13:30 | EG Jansen | vs | Welkom Gimnasium | https://bit.ly/JansiesGim2023 |
| 15:00 | Glenwood | vs | Hoërskool Nelspruit | https://bit.ly/NelliesGlenwood2023 |
| 16:30 | Noordheuwel | vs | Maritzburg College | https://bit.ly/NoriesMaritzburg2023 |
| 18:00 | Affies | vs | Durban High School | https://bit.ly/affiesdhs |
| 19:30 | Paarl Gimnasium | vs | Grey College | https://bit.ly/paarlgrey2023 |
