Carlton-Van Heerden win wet FNB Classic

Match Report

In the rain and the wind in Upington, Carlton-Van Heerden beat AJ Ferreira 3-0 in their FNB Classic Clash on Saturday.

There were about 4 000 people present on the day. AJ Ferreira were the hosts. Carlton-Van Heerden dominated most of the day. They won the Under-15 and Under-17 rugby games as well as the netball, AJ Ferreira won the 1st teams' soccer clash and soft ball games.

Despite the low score of the game, the fans were excellent and cheered their teams on the whole day. You could see that the people were hungry for some rugby, which they don't often get too see. If it weren't for FNB's involvement in Upington, I think that the game of rugby would have been dead a long time ago. SARU must have a look at this region. Very soon, otherwise, we can write Upington off the rugby breeding list.

The conditions in Upington aren't conducive to playing rugby, and soccer is very prominent in the town. It was the first games that these two teams played for the season.

It rained most of the day, and the wind was basically blowing the whole day.
 
Carlton-Van Heerden won because Gerald Cloete kicked a penalty goal, his only success in five attempts in the conditions.

There were some good performances. On Carlton-Van Heerden's side there were Roshwin Scott, the eighthman and captain, flyhalf Gerald Cloete, lock Abraham Mentoor and the Man of the Match, tighthead prop Desmond Louw.

Despite Gerald Cloete's uneducated boot, he is a definite talent in the flyhalf position (a position that we don't have a lot of depth in on senior level). Remember the name Desmond Louw, he plays his rugby like the conditions in Upington, hard, very hard!

On AJ Ferreira' side they've a real talent in Hanri Snyders in the fullback position. He' got everything, the skills, the speed, but he lacks the physique. Captain Charmby Beez, the blindside flank was also outstanding.

Scorer:

For Carlton-Van Heerden
Pen: Gerald Cloete

Teams:

Carlton-Van Heerden: 15 Brandon-Visagie, 14 Aithken Sharpley, 13 Brandon Schreiner, 12 Gary Scholtz, 11 Adriaan Julies, 10 Gerald Cloete, 9 Romano Maans, 8 Rhoswin Scott (captain), 7 Xavier Assegaai, 6 Henry Esau, 5 Abraham Mentoor, 4 Ronwin Isaacs,  3 Desmond Louw, 2 Geraldo Klaasen, 1 Thabang Mooki.
Replacements: 16 Maxwill Amsterdam, 17 Alvin Adams, 18 Waldo Cloete, 19 Brendell Fisher, 20 Zane Beukes, 21 Jerome Masekwamang, 22 Ricardo Newman

AJ Ferreira: 15 Hanri Snyders (captain), 14 G Friedburg, 13 George Strauss, 12 E Kordom, 11 C van Rooi, 10 J Visagie, 9 R Sias, 8 L Pretorius, 7 Charmby Beez, 6 M Maasdorp, 5 P Moses, 4 A Tieties,  3 C van Wyk, 2 H Thys, 1 S Basson.
Replacements: 16 Z Baumann, 17 P Visagie, 18 S Bosch, 19 F Maasdorp, 20 W Delie, 21 J Mahonie, 22 V Ntlanganiso

Referee: Lucas Esau (Griqualand West)

By Tobie Badenhorst