Wynberg tops Rondebosch in back-and-forth thriller
It’s usually a Saturday fixture, but Rondebosch Boys’ High hosted Wynberg Boys’ High on Friday morning, in respect of Eid ul-Adha.
Two Saturdays ago, both sides celebrated comfortable victories. At home, Rondebosch defeated Boland Landbou 57-26, while also at home, Wynberg triumphed 34-5 over Bishops.
Heading into the clash, both sides were well rested and confident.
In the ninth minute, first blood went the way of Wynberg when, after a few phases outside the Rondebosch 22, tighthead prop Luqobo Makwendini drew two men into a tackle and then delivered a delicious offload to Kunene Gadu. The outside centre pulled off an electric step to beat his man and dived over the line for the opening points of the contest. His fellow centre, Yaqeen Ahmed, added the extras.
The home side bounced back only two minutes later. From the restart, they were awarded a penalty for blocking by the Wynberg forwards. ‘Bosch kicked for touch and from the resulting lineout they drove over, with hooker Ismaeel Conrad bagging their first try. Flyhalf Sebastian Boshoff made it 7-7 with a successful conversion attempt.
In the 14th minute, about 30 metres from the Rondebosch goal line, Wynberg let the ball do the work down the backline. Then, after a series of offloads, the speedy Gadu made a line break, resulting in a net gain of 28 metres. Scrumhalf Morné Noble led a transition with a series of short passes for his hard running forwards, until Makwendini broke through for a five-pointer.
Another conversion from Ahmed turned the play into a seven-pointer.
Wynberg doubled their lead eight minutes later. From a lineout maul, 20 metres out, they forced Rondebosch back onto their five-metre line. From there, Noble passed to the blind side. Left-wing, Albert Lourens, was tackled two metres short of the line, but Noble was on hand to keep the momentum going.
He picked up the ball and took a step to the blindside, which drew in a defender. Quick hands and a short pass to Achmat Behardien put the flyhalf over in the corner. Ahmed slotted the conversion from a narrow angle.
Rondebosch soon replied with a try of their own. The try scoring sequence was started by scrumhalf Caleb Bell, who took a quick tap, just inside the Wynberg 22. After he was brought down, the forwards turned to the pick-and-go. Bell, then, had the final touch, breaking through for a try, which was converted by Boshoff.
Wynberg was full of running and Gadu, once again, made a dazzling line-break in the 28th minute. This time from just inside the Rondebosch 10-metre line, he hit the accelerator before giving an inside ball to his captain, lock Jaythen Orange. The skipper returned the favour, passing to Gadu five metres from the try line and the centre celebrated his second try with a swan dive.
With only seconds remaining before halftime, ‘Bosch struck back with a brilliant backline move from a scrum just inside their 10-metre line.
Inside centre Harry Soboil, ran a dummy line to draw in the Wynberg defence. Then, a long pass was swung wide by outside centre Randall-John Davids to fullback Daniel Cooke. Cooke fed left wing David Kadima, who was tackled on the Wynberg 10-metre line. In an instant, Rondebosch changed direction with speed.
Upon receiving the ball, Soboil broke the line before releasing a pass to his captain Josh Neill, on the wing. The blindside flank went over in the right-hand corner.
Boshoff failed to add the extras, leaving the halftime score at 26-19 in favour of the visitors, Wynberg.
Rondebosch, after trailing for most of the match, pulled level in the 51st minute when Bell froze the Wynberg defenders with a dummy before scooting through for his second try of the game. Boshoff made it 26-26 with the conversion kick.
Five minutes later, for the first time, Rondebosch hit the front after a beautiful phase of play. Good hands and accurate passing between Boshoff, right wing Matthew Galpin, and Kadima put Galpin over after he side-stepped a defender, and Boshoff tacked on two points with an accurate conversion.
In the 62nd minute, the visitors drew level. After receiving a penalty for a high tackle, they kicked to touch and set up a lineout only five metres from the ‘Bosch try line. Executing with precision, they set up a powerful rolling maul and hooker Noah Gila was over for five points. Behardien converted with a stunning, swerving kick that he hit with the outside of his boot.
With time winding down, Wynberg was awarded a penalty in the 67th minute after Rondebosch was blown up for holding onto the ball at a breakdown. Alert to an opportunity, Noble saw the home side with their backs turned, so he took a quick tap and sprinted 40 metres, slicing through the blue jerseys of the defenders to score what turned out to be the winning try.
Behardien failed to add the extras, leaving Wynberg 38-33 ahead.
Rondebosch almost snatched victory after the final hooter had sounded with a rolling maul, but they were held up and an exhilarating game came to an end.
It was a contest that delivered skill and precision, providing the lively crowd with a memorable game of rugby. Wynberg won, but it could have gone either way.
Next Saturday, Rondebosch hosts Bishops. Wynberg will be at home to Paul Roos Gimnasium.
Scorers:
Rondebosch Boys’ High 33 (19) – Tries: Caleb Bell (2), Ismaeel Conrad, Joshua Neill, Matthew Galpin. Conversions: Sebastian Boshoff (4); Wynberg Boys’ High 38 (26) – Tries: Kunene Gadu (2), Morné Noble (2), Achmat Behardien, Noah Gila. Conversions: Yaqeen Ahmed (3), Achmat Behardien.
Other Results
u19B: Rondebosch 5-14 Wynberg
u16A: Rondebosch 15-10 Wynberg
u15A: Rondebosch 16-18 Wynberg
u14A: Rondebosch 14-17 Wynberg
- Rondebosch and Welkom Gim bag comfortable wins - 2025-10-27
- Bishops in thrilling one-wicket win over Wynberg - 2025-10-26
- Paul Roos and Boland Landbou power to victory - 2025-10-26
