Dirkie Uys stun Tygerberg
In what must be one of the most astonishing upsets in schoolboy rugby down south in recent years, tiny Dirkie Uys beat fading giants Tygerberg 21-17 on Monday, 26 March – Day Two of the Copytype Ricoh Tony Stoops Rugby Festival, at Hoerskool President.
Clichéd as it may sound, the difference between the two teams – who each scored three tries – was considerably more than two crucial conversions by the victors’ influential pivot Du Toit Maree.
This was a display of heroic defence that only a scriptwriter could dream up. Never bettered at any stage in the game, the pride of beautiful Moorreesburg, who ironically are also known as the Tigers, withstood a massive late onslaught, to leave their much-vaunted opponents still winless this season after four outings.
No player epitomised the Boland lads’ commitment to the cause better than Man of the Match Jayson Marcus in the midfield where he was charged with keeping, amongst others, the formidable Edwin Sass, a 2011 SA Academy cap, quiet. This was another David versus Goliath contest in itself – Marcus stands about 5’9″ in old parlance.
Apart from the determined finishing of wing Shane Grundlingh, who scored another two five-pointers, there are hardly any positives for the Parow team to take out of this game, with several shortcomings being cruelly highlighted.
Firstly, not even Edwin Sass, who notched upward of twenty tries last year, can score unless he is given a steady supply of half decent possession.
Secondly, Tygerberg’s defensive capabilities are a major source of concern simply because they haven’t been rigorously tested in years. Finally, on a somewhat broader level, try as they might, northern suburbs schools really can’t compete with the big Winelands teams when it comes to attracting or retaining top Afrikaans-speaking rugby talent – in fact, one 2012 Tiere recruit returned to his former school before the season had even started!
Next Monday, Tygerberg run out against/into Waterkloof on the latter’s home field. It would be wonderful to see them bounce back, just not all the way to Cape Town, please.
This was by no means the only exciting match of the day. Hugenote continued to impress, a severely depleted De Kuilen silenced even their effusive coach Kuyper Albertyn to down Otto du Plessis 27-16, there was a brilliant comeback by Dirkie Uys’s neighbours, Hopefield, to beat Milnerton 29-24 and Oudtshoorn, Schoonspruit and Piketberg all won cliffhangers.
Results at a glance:
De Kuilen vs Otto du Plessis, 27-16
DF Malan vs Robertson, 20-7
Dirkie Uys vs Tygerberg, 21-17
Edgemead vs Uniondale, 19-19
HTS Newton vs Emil Weder, 16-10
Hopefield vs Milnerton, 29-24
Hugenote vs Port Natal, 35-14
Langenhoven High vs Hawston, 17-13
Montana vs Alexander Road, 13-10
New Orleans vs Swellendam, 23-19
Oudtshoorn vs Pearson, 39-32
Piketberg vs Despatch, 28-26
Porterville vs Scottsdene, 38-0
President vs Langeberg, 20-18
Sao Bras vs Klein Nederburg, 8-7
Schoonspruit vs Bellville South, 28-22
Vredenburg vs Bosmansdam, 26-13
Westering vs Table View, 24-3
York vs JG Meiring, 17-8
Fixtures for Wednesday, 28 March
08.30: Langenhoven High vs Westering
08.30: Sao Bras vs HTS Newton
08.30: Hopefield vs Otto du Plessis
08.30: Dirkie Uys vs Pearson
09.50: Table View vs Uniondale
09.50: Milnerton vs York
09.50: Piketberg vs Oudtshoorn
09.50: Hugenote vs Despatch
11.10: JG Meiring vs Montana
11.10: Camps Bay vs Emil Weder
11.10: Klein Nederburg vs Langeberg
11.10: Swellendam vs Alexander Road
12.30: Edgemerad vs Vredenburg
12.30: DF Malan vs Porterville
12.30: President vs Hawston
13.50: Scottsdene vs New Orleans
13.50: Bellville South vs Robertson
13.50: Schoonspruit vs Port Natal
