New Orleans beat Klein Nederburg for a record fifth consecutive time in FNB Classic Clash
New Orleans are the victors for the fifth consecutive FNB Classic Clash after scraping by with a 13-8 victory against Klein Nederburg in another classic Paarl-derby on Saturday at the Faure Street Stadium.
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While the annual derby between Paarl Gimnasium and Paarl Boys’ High that takes place the weekend before is widely considered to be the biggest inter-schools clash in the world, some see the yearly battle between the two other proud local schools, New Orleans and Klein Nederburg, as an even bigger event.
Saturday’s rugby match lived up to all the expectations, with both squads giving their all in what they will remember as the highlight of their school rugby careers.
Since 1994, these two schools have been facing each other every year, with New Orleans enjoying the majority of the success over the years but Klein Nederburg have always made their rivals work their spoils, as is evident by the small margins most of these games are decided by.
Klein Nederburg drew the first blood on Saturday, with their talisman flyhalf, Abre Klein, converting a penalty within the first five minutes to gain the advantage.
New Orleans responded through their dynamic fullback, Je-Leo Philander, and though the rest of the first half was a stale-mate there was no lack of action.
Within minutes of fronting up to each other, most of the players wore the evidence of the physicality of the match on their chalk-smeared faces, looking like the warriors they were on the day. There were some hilarious questions for the referee by the players, exciting line breaks, monstrous tackles and even a case of mistaken identity with a yellow card all within the first 35 minutes before the two teams went to have their team talks and orange slices at half time still locked at 3-all.
New Orleans’ flyer, Jayden Solomons (winger), scored both of his team’s tries in the second half.
The first came after a brilliant run by his outside centre, Wade Bergstedt, who expertly got the ball out to Solomons to dive over.
The second was scored with four minutes left on the clock. Solomons turned on the after-burners to break the Klein Nederburg supporters’ hearts, shortly after his team received a red card for a dangerous tackle and scored what would turn out to be the winning try.
Klein Nederburg competed valiantly, despite the loss.
Their winger, Hugan Joseph, scored their only try after some quick thinking by his inside centre, Thorston Morkel, who recognized the opportunity to take a free-kick quickly and blast the ball across the field to his waiting winger who had a wide-open try-line in front of him.
The lively little scrumhalf, Eldo Draghoender, also deserves a mention for his efforts on the day.
For the victors, Philander was a standout, along with his flanker, Fayaaz Hendricks, and winger, Rozario Davids.
All in all, apart from some disciplinary issues and an injury that seemed serious to a Klein Nederburg player, this derby was a wonderful advertisement for schoolboy rugby, with both teams stepping up to produce a performance to match the hype.
The scorers:
New Orleans 13 (3) – Tries: Jayden Solomons (2). Penalty: Je-Leo Philander. Klein Nederburg 8 (3) – Try: Hugan Joseph. Penalty: Abre Klein.
Other results:
u19 – New Orleans II 15, Klein Nederburg II 0.
Girls – Klein Nederburg 5, New Orleans 0.
u16 – New Orleans 14, Klein Nederburg 12.
u15 – New Orleans 10, Klein Nederburg 5.
u14 – New Orleans 19, Klein Nederburg 0.
