Nico Malan sneaks by Glenwood in topsy-turvy thriller
It took Nico Malan only three minutes to breach Glenwood‘s defences in the second game of the Absa Wildeklawer tournament on Wednesday, and it came from a clever lineout move, which stretched the Green Machine‘s lineout and opened a gap in the middle of the set piece.
8th-man and captain Pietman Kleinhans took the scoring pass and burst over for five points. Fullback Leighton Lawrence nailed the conversion from near the right-hand touchline and the team from Humansdorp led 7-0. That was the opening blow in an 80-point extravaganza of rugby.
Glenwood struck back quickly after taking possession of a kick deep into the Nico Malan 22. They swung it left down the backline and a nice show-and-go from flyhalf Kungawo Ncamazana froze the defence for a minute, which gave him time to scoot through a gap and score. Fullback Joshua Koop added the extras and it was all square in the seventh minute.
Four minutes later, Lawrence knocked over a penalty to lift the Eastern Cape boys into a three-point lead. From the kick-off, Glenwood was awarded a penalty and Koop did the necessary to make it 10-10.
Glenwood was full of running and they took the lead for the first time from a scrum 10 metres inside the Nico Malan half. After testing the defence down the right-hand touchline, they moved the ball quickly to the left flank, where wing Mvelo Ndwalane made good ground before passing back inside to his skipper Lizwe Mtetwa and the big centre charged over for a second Glenwood try. Kopp banged over the conversion kick, too.
Nico Malan responded with a try of their own in the 22nd minute, with their 8th-man Pietman Kleinhans running a terrific line against the grain to slice through the Glenwood defence, with nary a hand being laid on him before he crossed the try line. Lawrence’s trusty boot made it 17-17.
The pendulum swung again as the Green Machine powered onto the attack. They came ever so close to scoring, but the final pass went forward. Nico Malan, though, had strayed offsides and Glenwood opted to kick for touch, rather than accept a simple penalty kick at the posts.
Glenwood’s brave decision was rewarded when, after they had won the lineout on the right touchline, Kopp, with smart footwork, went over wide on the left. His kick was wide of the mark, but the Durban school led 22-17.
With Glenwood having scored, the momentum immediately shifted as Nico Malan set up shop in the Green Machine’s 22. Then, Gelden van Niekerk took a short pass right in front of the uprights, wiggled out of an attempted tackle and held off another would-be tackler to dive over for a try. The conversion was a formality and Nico Malan took back the lead at 24-22.
After a richly entertaining first half, which produced 46 points, only two points separated the sides.
After the restart, Glenwood made most of the early running, but Nico Malan was eventually able to relieve the pressure and work their way into the Durbanites’ 22. Glenwood, though, returned the favour, holding firm through numerous phases before clearing the ball.
With play now taking place around the halfway line, Nico Malan took it up along the right touchline. Stopped, they fed the ball inside to prop Waldo Krige. He quickly released a short pass to flank Crisjan de Lange, on his left. De Lange pinned his ears back and charged through a gap. After hurdling a desperate tackle attempt, he raced up to the 22, then stepped hard off his left foot, handed off Kopp, and sprinted clear to score a stunning try in the corner.
Lawrence, right up against the touchline, deftly goaled the try to make it Nico Malan 31-22 Glenwood.
Jaco Nepgen’s charges were soon back on the attack after the kick-off. Momentum was on their side. Glenwood’s defence creaked and left-wing Tequane Koopman almost went over in the corner. Nico Malan brought the ball back inside and André van der Merwe probed at a half-gap before he was stopped just short of the try line.
When the boys in blue received a penalty because Glenwood had gone offsides, captain Kleinhans chose a kick at goal and Lawrence added the simple kick to extend Nico Malan’s lead to 12 points.
Glenwood needed to be the next team to score and they were, in the 55 minute. After sustained drives from the Green Machine’s forwards, Tyler Conyngham, on as a substitute, took the scoring pass to dot down to the left of the uprights. Kopp made it a seven-point gain with his conversion, leaving Nico Malan only five points clear.
A couple of minutes later, Glenwood tied it up when, from a five-metre lineout, Zane Kruis burst off the back of a driving maul to crash over for another five-pointer. Kopp slotted the kick and Glenwood edged into a 36-34 lead.
The rollercoaster ride wasn’t over yet, however.
Once more, the team that had just conceded points, grabbed the territorial and possession advantage, with Nico Malan taking play down into Glenwood’s 22. A knock-on allowed coach Derek Heiberg‘s Green Machine to clear their lines and when they won a penalty, about 42 metres out, they opted for a kick at goal. Kopp struck it well and Glenwood was five points ahead with six minutes remaining.
When Glenwood was blown up for scrumming upwards – the entire Nico Malan front row was a good half-metre in the air – the Humansdorp boys kicked deep into Glenwood’s 22. They had a lineout throw-in eight metres out.
A high tackle gave Nico Malan another opportunity after they knocked on from the lineout. Less than two minutes were left. Then, from a whirling maul, they powered their way over and Hayden Pienaar grounded the ball just to the left of the posts. Lawrence had no issues with the conversion kick, making it 41-39 in favour of Nico Malan with under a minute to go.
Glenwood launched a feverish attack, trying to strike the final blow, and they inched their way forward through phase after phase, but, with the try line just five metres away, the Green Machine was blown up for holding onto the ball on the ground, and Nico Malan kicked the penalty to touch to secure a memorable 41-39 win.
SCORES
Nico Malan 41 (24) – Tries: Pietman Kleinhans (2), Gelden van Niekerk, Chrisjan de Lange, Hayden Pienaar. Conversions: Leighton Lawrence (5). Penalties: Lawrence (2). Glenwood 39 (22) – Tries: Kungawo Ncamazana, Lizwe Mtetwa, Joshua Kopp, Tyler Conyngham, Zane Kruis. Conversions: Kopp (4). Penalties: Kopp (2).
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