SA Schools sweat against second stringers before Mars takes them home
The incredible depth of South African schoolboy rugby was on show as the SA Schools U18 side had to work hard for a 36-26 win over the SA Schools U18 “A” team at the Boland Stadium.
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The SA Schools captain and eighth man from Grey College, JJ Theron, was phenomenal for his side. Leading from the front by carrying the ball strongly and being rock-solid on defence. His game was cut short with an injury early in the second half, which will be a major blow if it turns out to be serious.
He initiated the first try of the day, breaking through the defensive line and doing well to get the ball to his hooker from King Edward VII, Siphosethu Mnebelele, who barged over for the first score.
The courageous captain then got over the line himself, five minutes before the break, to regain the lead for his side after an inspired period of attack by the SA A team saw them take a 14-7 lead through a try by the industrious flanker from Daniel Pienaar, De Wet Fourie, and a penalty try which they forced through a strong driving maul.
Fichardtpark’s first-ever Springbok Schools player, the big lock, Jaco Grobbelaar, drew his side equal after Mnebelele paid forward the earlier favour by his captain by showing equally impressive handling in contact to get the ball to Grobbelaar who burst over the line.
Grey College’s star flyhalf, Ian van der Merwe, converted all three tries for the SA Schools team in the first half to give his side a 21-14 advantage at halftime.
The SA A team looked fired up after the break and Noordheuwel’s lightning-quick winger, Cheswill Jooste, needed only a minute after the kickoff to score and show that they had no intention of rolling over without a fight.
Unfortunately, the SA A team also suffered an injury when the Diocesan College fullback who has been showing a lot of promise throughout the season, Gilermo Mentoe, had to leave the field minutes after coming on as a substitute.
A flurry of substitutions by both squads to give every player as much game time as possible had no impact on the intensity of the game. In fact, it was the SA Schools replacement hooker from Helpmekaar, Ruan Welman, who scored a brace to help his side build a buffer to protect against the unceasing SA A attack.
The SA A team managed to level up the scores for the third time in the game when their substitute scrumhalf from Monument, Ceano Everson, scored a beautiful try after some sensational athleticism by his centre, Benito Goeda, from Grey College.
Both SA A scrum-halves, Everson and Garsfontein’s Brooklyn Newman played well and kept the SA Schools forwards awake around the rucks.
With only five minutes left on the clock, after Welman’s second try, SA Schools were holding on to a slender 31-26 lead but the SA A team had them pinned to their own goal line and it looked as if they were going to steal a big statement victory before JC Mars, the SA Schools fullback from Paarl Boys’ High who is one of the seven players who has been selected for a second time after having already played for the SA Schools teams last year, started on the halfway line and stepped around the defenders, as he so often does, to score the final try of the day, sealing the victory for the SA Schools team.
The other six returning players are JT Strydom, Jameel de Jongh, Divan Fuller, Danio Botha, Ulrich van der Westhuizen and Christian Everett.
Mars and his winger from Maritzburg College, Luyanda Kunene, combined well at the back and caused a couple of problems for the SA A team when returning kicks.
Their centre from Garsfontein, Demitre Erasmus, stood out on defence. The lively speedster who has made a name for himself with his try-scoring ability and his highlight reel interceptions showed that he can also apply his ability to read the game on defence, making a couple of crucial tackles just when it looked like SA A might be gaining some momentum.
For the SA A team Fourie and his flanking partner from HTS Drostdy, Matt Romao, were solid when defending and their fullback from Outeniqua, JT Strydom, was also reliable at the back and exciting when he had a bit of space.
Both of these teams have recently been selected, after the Craven Week in George earlier this month, to represent the country at U18 level and this was the first opportunity they had to play together.
Not only did the game show how much talent there is in South Africa, with the SA A team very nearly toppling the first-choice SA Schools team, but it will also have been the perfect preparation for both squads and invaluable information for their coaching teams as they get ready to represent the country.
Scorers:
SA Schools 36 (21) – Tries: Ruan Welman (2), Siphosethu Mnebelele, Jaco Grobbelaar, JJ Theron, JC Mars. Conversions: Ian van der Merwe (3). SA Schools “A” 26 (14) – Tries: De Wet Fourie, Cheswill Jooste, Ceano Everson, Penalty Try. Conversions: Yaqeen Ahmed, Dominic Malgas.
