Neill leads Rondebosch to a rollicking victory over Jeppe
Josh Neill‘s headgear was, as usual, seen all over the park as he led a rollicking Rondebosch Boys’ High side to a convincing 38-15 victory over Jeppe High School for Boys at the NMI Noord/Suid Tournament at Paul Roos Gimnasium, in Stellenbosch, on Saturday.
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It took about five minutes for Neill to make his mark on the game. He burst through the Johannesburg school’s defensive line to dot down for the first of his two tries.
That five-pointer, though, was only the start of Jeppe’s nightmares as Neill and his fellow flank, Alutha Wesi, kept on challenging the defence and laying down a physical challenge.
Wesi, carrying the ball hard in the trenches, laid a platform for his teammate to exploit the space on the outside with some silky skills, but Neill wasn’t alone in enjoying the space.
Outside centre Randall-John Davids punished the Zebras’ defensive lapses with some outstanding runs, which also brought him a try.
Jeppe showed some signs of the team that turned it on in the second half to beat King Edward VII School last weekend, with their backs impressing, especially outside centre Lindelani Nkambule, who showed off his wheels in the midfield.
Oakdale Landbou performed as expected, beating Hoërskool Nelspruit‘s Rhinos 45-12. It was, however, not as easy as the scoreboard might suggest, with the side from the Lowveld fronting up physically to a massive pack. However, the Riversdal school made better use of their opportunities and did a good job of converting pressure into points.
Inside centre Christiaan Vorster picked from where he had left off against Grey College, running in a hat-trick of tries. It was a well-deserved reward for a physically taxing performance, which saw him making one dominant run after another to stamp his authority in the midfield.
He found good support from hooker, Adrian Smith, who was at home at the back of a strong driving maul, which led to him diving over for two tries.
The Nellies‘ loose forwards, Vaughn van Zyl and blindside flanker, Vian Louw, were a cut above the rest. Van Zyl showed a few Oakdale defenders that he’s a bus on the move, while Louw was immense on defence, putting in some earth-shaking hits.
SCORERS
Rondebosch Boys’ High 38 (19) – Tries: Josh Neill (2), 13 Randall-John Davids, Alutha Wesi, Penalty Try, Caleb Bell. Conversions: Harry Soboil (3). Jeppe High School for Boys 15 (15) – Tries: Ndimphiwe Mjiji, Lindelani Nkambule. Conv: Nehemiah Hollenbach. Penalties: Hollenbach.
Oakdale Landbou 45 (24) – Tries: Christiaan Vorster (3) Adrian Smith (2), Diaan Augustyn,Reinhart Viljoen. Conversions: CT Vosloo (5). Hoërskool Nelspruit 12 (7) – Tries: Tinyiko Silubane. Vian Louw. Doelskop: John Duncan.
