Westville battles to victory at Hilton College
In a match-up of two teams featuring players with plenty of 1st XV experience, Westville Boys’ High visited Hilton College on Saturday and came away with a hard-earned 23-15 victory on Gilfillan Field.
Flyhalf Lux Sononkonkono slotted a couple of early penalties to put the visitors an early lead. After falling behind, though, Hilton worked their way into the match and began to play the game inside Westville’s half.
Their effort was rewarded with a penalty in the 22nd minute, kicked by Liyema Nela.
Immediately after conceding those points, though, Westville backed up Hilton into their 22 and kept them pinned there. After bashing it up with their forwards, they scored the first try of the match when lock Moustapher Gcina crashed over under the uprights. Sononkonkono added the easy kick to increase the visitors’ lead to 13-3 in the 27th minute.
Just before halftime, Hilton laid siege to Westville’s try line after winning a penalty, which they kicked into touch five metres out. The home team tried to maul their way over the line, but coach Zander Erasmus‘s boys laid their bodies on the line to stop the surge.
Then, just when it appeared that Hilton was about to go over for five, Westville burst away from the maul after ripping away possession. They hacked the ball down the field and into the hosts’ territory. It was a crucial passage of play.
The teams turned with the score 13-3 in the visiting team’s favour. Hilton, though, closed the gap early in the second half when they drove over in the left-hand corner from a lineout, with hooker Josh Grant, unsurprisingly being the player to finish it off. Liyema Nela’s conversion nearly bisected the uprights to reduce the deficit to only three points.
Westville responded quickly. From a five-metre scrum on the left in Hilton’s 22, they shifted the ball quickly to the backline. With some dummy runners challenging the Hilton defence, captain Liam Simpkins fed inside centre Sean McGough and he ran hard and straight at the home side’s defensive line. He crashed through a tackle, hit the ground, and his momentum carried him over for a try under the poles. Sononkonkono added two more points with the easy conversion to make it Westville 20-10 Hilton.
Momentum shifted again, with Hilton playing the game deep in Westville’s half. Up front, the packs were engaged in a hard battle in the set scrums. When Hilton got the better of one, they earned a put-in five metres from the Westville try line, out on the left. They charged at the line from the scrum but were held up over the whitewash.
After another series of pick ‘n goes, Zander Vorster was prevented from grounding the ball, but the referee went back to award Hilton a penalty for Westville being offsides. For a third time in succession, Hilton drove it up and went over the try line, but they were held up. Then, Westville finally exited their 22.
It was another passage of play that went a long way towards determining the result, and Zekhethelo Siyaya delivered a sucker punch moments later when he landed a long-range penalty to put Westville 23-10 ahead.
Coach Brad Mcleod-Henderson‘s side kept taking it to the visitors as the clock ticked down and, with only four minutes remaining, they opened up space on the left flank for Ricky Adonis to go over in the corner. Nela needed to land the difficult conversion to bring Hilton within seven points, but, in the wind, his effort fell short.
Westville was able to play the remainder of the game in Hilton’s half and came away with a hard-earned 23-15 victory.
POINTS SCORERS
Hilton College 15 (3) – Tries: Josh Grant, Ricky Adonis. Conversion: Liyema Nela, Penalty: Liyena Nela. Westville Boys’ High 23 (13) – Tries: Moustapher Gcina, Sean McGough. Conversions: Lux Sononkonkono (2), Penalties: Lux Sononkonkono (2), Zekhethelo Siyaya.
RESULTS
u19 – Hilton I 15 Westville I 23; Hilton II 20 Westville II 20; Hilton III 3 Westville III 27, Hilton IV 24 Westville IV 7; Hilton V 12 Westville V 7; Hilton VI 29 Westville VI 0
u16 – Hilton A 12 Westville A 20; Hilton B 24 Westville B 17; Hilton C 18 Westville C 17; Hilton D 0 Westville D 54
u15 – Hilton A 21 Westville A 24; Hilton B 7 Westville B 8; Hilton C 7 Westville C 38; Hilton D 14 Westville D 38
u14 – Hilton A 31 Westville A 7; Hilton B 7 Westville B 31; Hilton C 0 Westville C 59.
