Welkom Gimnasium and Voortrekker battle it out for the Griffons’ title
Welkom Gimnasium and Voortrekker battle it out for the Griffons league title on Saturday, the winner of this match also qualifies for the Kovsie League semi-finals against the Griqua League champions and the two Free State representatives, who will be Jim Fouché and Fichardtpark.
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Welkom Gimnasium has been an exciting team to follow all season. With some big victories and reels full of entertaining tries, the Gimmies aim to collect some silverware as a reward for all their hard work on Saturday.
Over their last eight matches, Welkom Gimnasium has been able to score more than 40 points against seven of their opponents, including last weekend, when they beat Noord-Kaap 58-12 with a comprehensive performance in the semi-final.
By their own admission though, their focus is not on the margins of their victory, as long as they continue growing and playing good rugby their eyes are set squarely on the title.
Last year Hoërkool Trio were crowned champions after beating Voortrekker 21-14 in the final in their debut season.
The Trekkers got their revenge last weekend when they eliminated the newcomers with a hard-fought 27-24 victory.
Getting through Welkom Gimnasium this weekend, however, will require their strongest performance of the season.
When they last met in Welkom earlier in the year, the Gimmies cruised to a 43-8 victory.
Their talisman flyhalf, Ronaldo Kiewiet, was on top of his game in that match, scoring 13 points off the kicking tee.
Kiewiet went on to be the top scorer at this year’s Craven Week in George and has not shown any signs of slowing down since.
He’s scored seven tries in the three matches since the start of the term and seems to have added drop goals to his arsenal, scoring two opportunistic three-pointers recently.
The Trekkers have to take on this challenge without their two first-choice hookers, Arnold Ras and HJ Spalding, who are both out with injuries. Hendrik Matthee has stepped up well to fill their boots.
They also lost their fullback, Tiaan van Rooyen, and their star winger, Kamohelo Moses, last weekend. Kaneng Komane, one of their standout players throughout the season, covers at the back while Karabelo Chaka and Thinus Hefer will start on the wings.
Apart from Kiewiet, the rest of the Welkom backline also poses a number of threats in the form of the Goeda twins, Naylen (fullback) and Naven (winger) who seem to be able to score from anywhere, and speedsters like Teschan Meas (centre) and Julian Samuels (scrumhalf) who also have a knack for beating defenders.
This game promises a lot of action and some beautiful tries, with both teams playing an exciting brand of rugby this season. This will be a fitting final to an entertaining season and one would suspect that the winners of Saturday’s match should be among the favourites in the Kovsie league.
The teams are:
Welkom Gimnasium vs Voortrekker at 13:20:
Welkom Gimnasium: 15 Naylan Goeda, 14 Naven Goeda, 13 Teschan Meas, 12 Mojalefa Matoka, 11 Khamohelo Mokoena, 10 Ronaldo Kiewiet, 9 Julian Samuels, 8 Ethan Jones, 7 Raylin Kirsten, 6 Lawrence Lamiene, 5 Jayden Auld, 4 Tristan Appollis, 3 Keanan August, 2 Dante Smith, 1 Buhle Mxabayi.
Voortrekker: 15 Kaneng Komane, 14 Karabelo Chaka, 13 Hein Smith, 12 Craig Mann, 11 Thinus Hefer, 10 Johan Whitehead, 9 Alexander Maree, 8 Dawid Fourie, 7 Alberto Argentino, 6 Jayden de Jesus, 5 Harry Kymdell, 4 Luttig Roux, 3 Cecil Parsons, 2 Hendrik Matthee, 1 Francois Maree.
