Rondebosch edges out resilient SACS, Niemand bags hat-trick for Gimmies
Rondebosch Boys’ High mustered a narrow 19-17 victory over SACS on the Tinkie Heyns Field in Cape Town on Saturday.
The hard-fought contest felt like two boxers slugging it out in the ring. It was raw and ferocious, with both sides leaving everything on the field.
At halftime, it was only 5-3 in favour of the hosts. The outcome was uncertain, and it stayed that way until the final whistle blew.
SACS threatened throughout the match, with flyhalf Jake Dave getting the ball out wide quickly. He also bagged himself 12 points through a try, a penalty, and two conversions, making him the highest individual points scorer of the contest.
Ultimately, ‘Bosch inside centre Andrea Mynhardt‘s try in the first half was the razor’s edge that separated the teams.
The tight southern suburbs’ derby demonstrated the importance of maintaining consistency throughout the 70 minutes, where every mistake or lapse in concentration could be highlighted as the mistake which cost one side victory.
While SACS didn’t do much wrong, Rondebosch didn’t make that one mistake, which could so easily have cost them the game against the battle-hardened Newlands outfit, who fought tigerishly to the final whistle. Instead, they showed courage and persistence to grind out a win.
Paarl Gimnasium extended their winning streak to eight consecutive games with their 64-15 success over the visiting Boland Landbou in a Paarl derby on Saturday.
Openside flank Corné Niemand bagged himself three tries in a brilliant individual display and team performance from Gimmies, and Gim’s electrifying fullback, Thomas Saunders, opened the taps to scoot over for a couple of tries of his own.
The hosts were dominant in pretty much every aspect of the game, and their 49-point victory was a worthy follow-up to their 80-29 win over the Farmers last year.
Boland Landbou find themselves in a similar boat to Milnerton High and Hoërskool Durbanville this season. None of the three has been able to replicate their usual win records. Then, again, a closer look at their fixture lists reveals a challenging list of opponents.
The Farmers showed some fight, and hooker Adrian le Roux and openside flank Jacques Bester both scored tries from blindside runs after picking the ball up from rucks inside the opposition 22.
It was another good day for Gimmies, but another tough day for Boland Landbou, who will aim to get back to winning ways against SACS next Saturday.
Scorers
Rondebosch Boys’ High 19 (5) – Tries: Andrea Mynhardt, Linakho Mehlomakulu, Kirwan November. Conversions: Eathon Williams, Shellvon Mabooi. SACS 17 (3) – Tries: Jake Dave, Dominic Raisbeck. Conversions: Dave (2). Penalty: Dave.
Paarl Gimnasium 64 (29) – Tries: Corné Niemand (3), Thomas Saunders (2), Malan Mostert (2), Hendré van Zyl, Ethan Barker, De Waal Vivier. Conversions: Louis Koen (6), Adrian Conradie. Boland Landbou 15 (10) – Tries: Adrian le Roux, Jacques Bester. Conversion: Divan Meyer. Penalty: Meyer.
Results
U19 – Rondebosch I 19 SACS I 17, Rondebosch II 27 SACS II 22.
U16 – Rondebosch A 38 SACS A 14.
U15 – Rondebosch A 19 SACS A 19.
U14 – Rondebosch A 11 SACS A 11.
