Tony Stoops on top against Leinster champions
A hat-trick of tries by converted fullback, Byron Qupa, helped to secure a 32-14 victory for the touring Tony Stoops XV against Cistercian College of Rosscrea in Ireland. Qupa was on the wing for Boland at the Coca-Cola Craven Week in Stellenbosch earlier this year. The Tony Stoops XV is touring Ireland with Travel and Sport as their agents.
Qupa’s positional play was tested by the Irish fullback, Connor Kelly, in the early exchanges of the match. The speedster from New Orleans however found his feet and troubled the home side’s defence with his evading runs. Kelly was without a doubt his side’s best player as his trusty boot kept the scoreboard ticking over and his tactical kicking kept the South Africans at bay in the first half.
Cistercian College led by 14-13 at the break after two well-worked tries by Simon Magner and Ryan Lomas. The Irish team is the defending Leinster Senior Cup champions. They won the title for the first time in the 2014/15 season. They are coached by South African, Pieter Swanepoel.
No. 8, Sesona Macala, led the physical onslaught by the South Africans. If it wasn’t for Qupa’s hat-trick he would’ve walked away with the man-of-the-match award. He was able to cross the gain line with each of his runs. The prop Didi le Roux and captain and lock, Pieter-Steyl Steenkamp, also produced good performances.
In the backs the midfield pairing of Wesley Carolissen and Keenan Dreyer showed that they can cause havoc on attack if they receive quality possesion. The flyhalf, Delan Jongkind, can also feel more than pleased with his performance on the day.
The Arthur Johnson XV came up against Cork Constitution RFC in their second match of their tour through Ireland. Cork won the match 20-9, but the result was in the balance untill the home side was able to take the match away in the final five minutes.
For Arthur Johnson their fullback, Gerhardt Badenhorst slotted three penalties. Cork’s tries was scored by Liam O’Tool, Eoin Smyth and Connor Healy. Smyth also converted a try and slotted a penalty for his team.
School of Rugby is touring Ireland courtesy of Travel and Sport.
Scorers:
Tony Stoops XV 32 (13) – Tries: Byron Qupa (3), Pieter-Steyl Swanepoel, Marcel Roux. Conversions: Delan Jongkind (2). Penalty: Jongkind. Cistercian College 14 (14) – Tries: Simon Magner, Ryan Lomas. Conversion: Connor Kelly (2).
The teams:
Tony Stoops XV: 15 Byron Qupa (New Orleans), 14 Keagan Kearns (De Kuilen), 13 Wesley Carolissen (De Kuilen), 12 Keenan Dreyer (De Kuilen), 11 Christo van Heerden (Parow), 10 Delan Jongkind (Jan Kriel), 9 Aiden Bonze (Tygerberg), 8 Sesona Macala (Victoria Park), 7 Benna van der Westhuizen (Piketberg), 6 Arno van Deventer (Tygerberg), 5 Pieter-Steyl Swanepoel (Nico Malan – captain), 4 Abrie van Wyk (Table View), 3 Didi le Roux (Tygerberg), 2 Boland Esterhuizen (Tygerberg), 1 Fayyaadh Ebrahim (Sutherland, Pretoria).
Cistercian College (Roscrea): 15 Connor Kelly, 14 Aaron Coughlan, 13 Phillip O’Shea, 12 Sam Hasting, 11 Killian Walsh, 10 Rory Gavney, 9 Keith Kavanagh, 8 Simon Magner, 7 Robert Mooney, 6 Brian Diffily, 5 Aaron Murphy, 4 Fincan Wycherly, 3 Dylan Murphy, 2 Jack Culligan, 1 Ryan Lomas.
