Paul Roos wins at Grey High, Nico Malan nips Framesby
The Maroon Machine from Stellenbosch continued to march on as Paul Roos Gymnasium (PRG) held off a spirited fightback from Grey High to triumph 28-15 in their King Price Derby Series clash on the Kolisi Field at Grey on Saturday.
After leading 14-0 at halftime and then 21-5 six minutes into the second half, the visitors had to withstand a fightback, which lifted Grey to within six points of their tally. PRG then turned to their forwards to rumble upfield, and they eventually pulled away late in the game for a deserved victory.
Grey was guilty of some defensive lapses in the first half, and a sudden burst, which resulted in tries for the Maroon Machine’s burly centre, Jean Hamman, and their speedy wing, Cadynn Samuels, saw the touring side rocket into a 14-0 lead after only 13 minutes.
Samuels took his chance when Grey failed to deal with a kick ahead by scrumhalf Tristan Armitage. The ball bounced kindly for the left wing, and he outpaced the Grey defence in a 50-metre dash for the try line.
In windy conditions, Kyle Snyers was on song with his boot, converting both Paul Roos tries.
It took Grey High until the 40th minute to get the scoreboard moving. A series of drives from the home side’s forwards ended when prop Daniel Naudé forced his way over for a try.
Those five points were quickly cancelled out when PRG no. 8 Werner du Bruin got onto the end of a pass from a quick tap close to the Grey line, and there was no stopping him from scoring the visitors’ third try.
Then came Grey’s brightest period of the match. They made Paul Roos pay for the basic error of a dropped pass, with wing Sikhu Xego snapping up possession near the halfway line and racing away to score.
Ten minutes later, excellent hands by the Grey backline quickly shifted the ball out wide to right-wing Noah Mbizi, who used nifty footwork to evade a few defenders before crossing the whitewash for the hosts’ third try.
With 19 minutes remaining, and the scoreline favouring Paul Roos 21-15, there was everything to play for, but PRG quickly tightened things up.
Although they missed a penalty kick, they took control of proceedings through their forwards, and a 25-metre maul from the halfway line underpinned their intentions.
They were able to stay in the right areas of the field, and their constant pressure eventually told when flank Christian le Roux burst over for their final try, converted by Snyers, to complete the scoring.
In a frenzied finish on the Framesby ground, down the road from Grey High, the visitors from Humansdorp, Nico Malan, held on for a slim 35-34 win after a conversion attempt from the home side dropped just short of the posts.
During the match, Nico Malan demonstrated the diversity they have introduced into their approach, while Framesby turned to their structured physicality, led by their powerful mauling pack and hard-running backline.
The visitors built a 21-7 lead, but Framesby was determined to stay in the fight and closed the gap to 21-19 at the break.
That trend continued in the second half. Nico Malan went ahead by two scores before the match went down to the wire.
With the visitors 35-29 to the good and on the attack deep inside Framesby’s 22, a knock-on gave the home side a scrum, which became a free kick, and that enabled them to go on the offensive.
Taking the ball through a number of phases, they crossed for a try in the left-hand corner. But that left the home side needing a difficult conversion into a strong wind to snatch victory. To Nico Malan’s relief, it fell short, and they claimed a nail-biting win.
There was another one-point victory in Kariega where Brandwag scored a try on the hooter and added the conversion for a 26-25 win over Muir College in the Tinara Cup.
Daniel Pienaar took control of their match against Otto du Plessis in the second half, piling on 23 points to win 33-10 after leading only 10-3 at the break.
Pearson, meanwhile, had their unbeaten run emphatically ended by Outeniqua, who charged their way to a 62-0 win.
Scorers
Paul Roos Gymnasium 28 (14) – Tries: Jean Hamman, Werner de Bruin, Cadynn Samuels, Christian le Roux. Conversions: Kyle Snyers (4). Grey High 15 (0) – Tries: Daniel Naudé, Sikhu Xego, Noah Mbizi.
Nico Malan 35 (21) – Tries: Leighton Lawrence, Callie de Lange, Elrich van Zyl, Luciano Botha, Kian van Schalkwyk. Conversions: Lawrence (5). Framesby – not available.
