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Jeppe fends off the Griffin, KES’s Mbuyi claims “fiver”

By Alex Ralston , in Rugby | Featured Rugby | News , at 2024-04-14 Tags: , , ,

Jeppes Andre Poulton on the move. Photo Credit: Theo Garrun
Jeppe’s Andre Poulton on the move. Photo Credit: Theo Garrun

Collard Field played host to an exciting highveld versus coastal fixture on Saturday, with the pace in the Jeppe High School for Boys vs Westville Boys’ High clash never waning, and both sides defending resolutely and attacking with creativity in a 31-24 win for the hosts.

In 2023, on Westville’s Bowden’s Field, Jeppe won 43-31. This year’s match was, again, tightly contested, and the respect the schools share for one another was evident, both on and off the field.

Within six-minutes of kick-off, Westville’s fullback Jade-Will Koopman showed off his blistering pace down the sideline, after centre Michael Satade’s clever pass had opened up an overlap.

Employing a clever dive over the corner flag, Koopman evaded the cover defence to score a fantastic five-pointer, which got the scoreboard moving. From out wide, flyhalf Unathi Mlotshwa easily converted.

Jeppe fought hard to retain possession after the restart and, after cycling through a number of phases, captain Kuthadzo Rasivhaga delivered a near perfect pass to set up a try for inside centre McMillen Mongwana, who weaved in between the Westville defenders to go over under the posts.

It was like a game of ping-pong in the first half, with Westville bouncing back immediately after conceding points. From a five-metre scrum, they put the Jeppe pack in reverse and scrum-half Ryan Pistor passed the ball out quickly to the blindside, where the talented Jadrian Afrikaner made a beeline for the left-hand corner, diving in for a try.

Afrikaner is an exciting prospect. He has a touch of pace and the ability to kick a ball long and far and looks like a player with a bright future.

On the brink of halftime, with the half seeming to have run a little long, Jeppe erased the seven-point deficit and levelled at 14-14 after winger Lindelani Nkambule showed off his wheels to slice through the middle of the Westville defence.

The second half was every bit as entertaining as the first, with the hosts striking early through Luke Cannon, who was played into a gap and sprinted through from almost the halfway line to score a fantastic try and give Jeppe the lead for the first time in the match.

Both packs were unyielding in their efforts to gain the edge over the other. Andre Poulton, Jeppe’s loosehead prop, was tough as nails in the set scrums and added some good plays around the field during the course of the contest.

With his side seven points ahead, scrumhalf Talent Sithole added another try for the home team, going over next to the uprights, after the Jeppe pack had driven the ball up. Substitute and one of the heroes of their victory over Grey College, Matthew Coetzee knocked over the conversion, to add to an earlier penalty, to extend Jeppe’s lead to 14 points.

Westville were not done, however, and they fought to the final whistle. They were rewarded with the play of the match before it sounded.

With Jeppe’s defences holding firm, as the Griffin probed for a chink in the hosts’ armour, flyhalf Mlotshwa expertly judged a cross-kick from right to left. It passed just over the outstretched hands of Jeppe’s widest defender but fell perfectly into left-wing Evan Moolman‘s mitts.

He caught it cleanly, with an open try line ahead, and went over for a well-executed try. Mlotshwa added the extras to reduce the deficit to seven points.

Meanwhile, down the road at Parktown Boys’ High School, the home side conceded 80 points in a one-sided loss against King Edward VII (KES), who were clinical in their victory.

The Red Army put on a show, crossing the try line on 12 occasions, with six of the starting XV scoring and substitute backline player Indi-Gusha Mboniswa also getting in on the action.

However, winger Jarell Mbuyi stole the spotlight, with the tall and powerful paceman making light work of a defence that looked uncertain for much of the match to race in for five tries.

By halftime, it was already 40-0, and there was no realistic prospect of Parktown turning the game around from there. They had created several scoring opportunities, including a penalty kick at goal, but failed to use them.

KES no. 10 Vusi Moyo continues to grow in stature as a flyhalf, and on Saturday a couple of neatly executed cross kicks resulted in two of his side’s tries. Moyo’s strong touch kicking has also proven to be a valuable asset and has enabled the Red Army to gain valuable territory in recent outings.

It was his foot and pinpoint accuracy which delivered Mbuyi one of his five tries on a plate. Perfectly judged, it opened up the Parktown defence like a can of beans and landed invitingly in the winger’s welcoming arms.

Dylan Piek, who came in as a replacement for the injured SA Schools’ hooker Esethu Mnebelele, scored a try and handled his lineout throwing duties with aplomb.

With KES comfortably in command, the coaching staff made five changes and were given a good opportunity to examine their squad’s depth in a match situation. There were some nerves on show from the incoming players, resulting in a few errors, but their additions demonstrated a well-balanced unit.

Next weekend KES takes on Pretoria Boys High in the first of their two annual fixtures. With both sides playing attractive 15-man games, it should make for entertaining viewing.

Scorers

King Edward VII 80 (40) – Tries: Jarell Mbuyi (5), Kebotile Maake (2), Haniel Monkoti, , Dylan Piek, Indi-Gusha Mboniswa, Sam Bruwer. Conversions: Vusi Moyo (10). Parktown Boys’ High School 0 (0)

Jeppe High School for Boys 31 (14) – Tries: McMillen Mongwana, Lindelani Nkambule, Luke Cannon, Talent Sithole. Conversions: Kuthadzo Rasivhaga (3), Matthew Coetzee. Penalties: Matthew Coetzee. Westville Boys’ High School 24 (14) – Tries: Jade-Will Koopman, Jadrian Afrikaner, Evan Moolman. Conversions: Unathi Mlotshwa (3). Penalties: Unathi Mlotshwa.

error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.