Second-half surge sees Paarl Gim back to winning ways

Paarl Gimnasium wasted no time getting back to winning ways on Saturday, outclassing SACS in the second half of their clash to score a convincing 35-10 victory.
The Gimmies tasted defeat for the first time this season last weekend when they narrowly lost 27-29 to Grey College.
SACS played extremely well to frustrate the hosts in the first 35 minutes, but a dominant performance after the break enabled the Gimmies to assert themselves and head into the Absa Wildeklawer Tournament in Kimberley with a welcome win under the belt.
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After a gruelling run of fixtures, during which they dusted off Boland Landbou (47-13) and edged by Affies (20-19) before last weekend’s loss to Grey, the Gimmies struggled to find their rhythm early on in the match in the face of the visitors’ tireless attack.
SACS, who were coming off a 22-55 loss to their southern suburbs’ rivals, Rondebosch Boys’ High, threw everything they had at the Gimmie defences from the first kick-off.
Their big lock, Callum Hirst, had a couple of strong carries and fullback, Jack Benade, looked exciting every time he touched the ball.
The Gimmie-defence, however, remained resolute and, despite not seeing much of the ball in the first 20 minutes, they were able to keep the visitors away from their try-line, for the most part.
It took a bit of magic by Rayaan Solomons to break through the home team’s barriers, allowing Nic Reynolds to open the scoring and give SACS the upper hand.
Reynolds had captained the side with distinction in their last couple of outings in the absence of Seth Bradford, who was injured early in the season.
Bradford returned with a vengeance in Saturday’s clash and starred for the visitors until he was unfortunately forced to leave the field early in the second half with another injury.
After Reynolds’ five-pointer, it was more of the same for the rest of the first half as SACS kept Gimmies pinned in their half, but brave defending, by the likes of Josh O’Neill and his captain Kobus Blanckenberg, kept the score at 0-7 at the break.
A stern talking-to at half-time seemed to do the trick and the hosts shot out of the blocks in the second stanza with flanker, Wihan Kotze, opening Gim’s account, and Freek de Kock expertly adding the extras to level the scores.
De Kock, who moved from fullback to wing after last weekend’s match, stood out for the hosts. He kept a perfect record off the tee and looked dangerous with the ball in hand.
His flyhalf, Chandler Green, also shone, directing the Gimmie attack smoothly throughout the match, and he played a big role in swinging the momentum in his side’s favour.
Blanckenberg struck twice while Solomons could add only a penalty as Gim stormed into a 21-10 lead.
Still, SACS were in it until the final 10 minutes. A brace of tries for the other Gimmie centre, Markus Muller, then knocked the wind out of the visitors’ sails and secured a comprehensive win for Paarl Gimnasium.
The classy performance will give the Gimmies a welcome boost before they take on two more-than-capable challengers from the Noordvaal, EG Jansen and Helpmekaar, in Kimberley next week.
SACS will regroup quickly and set about preparing for their next challenge, a home fixture next weekend against Bishops Diocesan College.
Scorers
Paarl Gimnasium 35 (0) – Tries: Kobus Blanckenberg (2), Markus Muller (2), Wihan Kotze. Conversions: Freek de Kock (5). SACS 10 (7) – Try: Nic Reynolds. Conversion: Rayaan Solomons. Penalty: Solomons.
Results
u19 – Paarl Gimnasium II 38, SACS II 5; Paarl Gimnasium III 26, SACS III 11; Paarl Gimnasium IV 42, SACS IV 7; Paarl Gimnasium V 34, SACS V 5; Paarl Gimnasium VI 53, SACS VI 3.
u16 – Paarl Gimnasium A 53, SACS A 0; Paarl Gimnasium B 85, SACS B 0; Paarl Gimnasium C 72, SACS C 0.
u15 – Paarl Gimnasium A 15, SACS A 13; Paarl Gimnasium B 20, SACS B 11; SACS C 15, Paarl Gimnasium C 10; Paarl Gimnasium D 27, SACS D 26.
u14 – Paarl Gimnasium A 52, SACS A 14; Paarl Gimnasium B 15, SACS B 9; Paarl Gimnasium C 10, SACS C 7; Paarl Gimnasium D 37, SACS D 10; Paarl Gimnasium E 25, SACS E 14.