Gimmies beat Quaggas

Scoring four tries to three Paarl Gim beat Outeniqua 37-25 in a top schools match in George on Saturday, shown live on TV as one of the Premier Interschools matches.

Before this match Outeniqua were ranked in first place on the FNB Top 20, Paarl Gim third. Between the two was Grey Bloem whom Outeniqua beat earlier this season.

Gim led 17-11 at half-time and were not in danger of losing the match. Two tries by Outeniqua in the last 12 minutes gave the impression of a closer encounter than it really was.

This is a big Gim side and the old saying may well be true – A good big one will always beat a good little one. Gim forwards had the better of the match and the Gim backs were quick to put pressure on the nippy Kwagga backs. That said, two of the Kwagga tries were brilliant individual efforts.

Gim scored first when Wyatt Murphy, a scrumhalf picked at flyhalf and playing fullback, goaled an angled penalty.. 3-0 after 12 minutes in which both sides showed enterprise.

Gimmies scored the first try when  Leaviel Gouws raced down the right wing. He played inside to Grant Hermanus and then next thing  Gimmies were right on the Kwaggas' line where scrumhalf Brendon Nell picked up and dabbed the ball over the line from the tackle/ruck. 10-0 after 15 minutes.

Warrick Gelant then goaled two penalties as Outeniqua got going. 10-6 after 26 minutes,

Gimmies came back on the attack. Outeniqua were penalised and Brendon Nell tapped and gave to powerful Jacques Vermeulen who forced his way through three defenders to score. Wyatt Murphy converted. 17-6 after 30 minutes.

Gimmies were bashing their way ahead when they lost the ball forward. It came to Dewald Human on his 22 and the Kwagga flyhalf flew down the field. About 12 metres from the Gimmies' line he passed a perfect pass to Leighton Eksteen who raced over for the try. 17-11 after 33 minutes, which was the half-time score.

Gimmies attacked from the start of the second half. Wyatt Murphy came into the line and set Leaviel Gouws racing for the line. Stopped by Geor Malan at the line, the wing popped the ball to Jacques Vermeulen who kept off Dewald Human and Geor Malan as he =swirled round to score. 22-11 after 41 minutes and then 25-11 when Wyatt Murphy goaled a penalty after 45 minutes.

Jacques Vermeulen opened the scoring in the second half with a try in the right corner, forcing his way over with sheer strength. Wyatt Murphy then goaled a penalty to make the score 25-11 with 25 minutes to go, and Outeniqua looked dispirited. But they soon got their heads up again and added two excellent tries of their own.

Gim kicked a penalty out for a five-metre line-out on their right. They formed a maul and marched it over the line for a try by eighthman Rikus Bothma. 30-11 after 54 minutes.

The battle between the two powerful eighthmen, Rikus Bothma of Gim and Dian Koen of Outeniqua was a feature of the match.

Remu Malan, the Kwaggas' scrumhalf, went off and Leighton Eksteen moved from wing to scrumhalf. Gim were penalised and Kwaggas tapped. A ruck formed and the ball came back to Leighton Eksteen. He picked up at the back, wandered right as if to pass and then suddenly accelerated on a swerving 30-metre run for a try at the posts without a finger laid on him. 30-18 with 12 minutes to play,

Left wing Duhan van der Merwe, strong and fast, had a great run down the middle of the field but this fizzled out for want of support.

Little Dewald Human, well inside his own half, chipped. Big Ryan Oosthuizen knocked the ball up, caught it and raced away for a try under the posts. 37-18.

Just before the end there was a scrum on Outeniqua's left. (The scrums were uncontested.) The ball came back to Leighton Eksteen who gave to Dewald human who gave a short pass to Duhan van der Merwe, who had come over from the left wing. His acceleration was breathtaking as cut between the centres, beating three Gimmies before striding the rest of the 40 metres to the posts.

That ended the match on a perfect afternoon in George with a big crowd and a packed stand of singing pupils.

Scorers:

For Outeniqua:

Tries: Leighton Eksteen 2, Duhan van der Merwe

Con: Warrick Gelant

Pens: Warrick Gelant 2

For Paarl Gim:

Tires; Brendon Nell, Jacques Vermeulen 2, Rikus Bothma, Ryan Oosthuizen

Cons: Wyatt Murphy: 3

Pens: Wyatt Murphy: 2

Teams

Outeniqua: 15 Hennie Barnard, 14 Leighton Eksteen, 13 Douw Schoeman, 12 Warrick Gelant (vice-captain), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Dewald Human, 9 Remu Malan, 8 Dian Koen, 7 Lian van Schalkwyk, 6 Geor Malan (captain), 5 Eduard Zandberg, 4 Hendri Storm, 3 Wynand de Necker, 2 Marné Botha, 1 Stefaan Grundlingh

Replacements: 16 Le Roux Baard, 17 Gregory Nel, 18 Anton Smit, 19 Christopher Roelfse, 20 Wynand du Preez, 21 Corné de Klerk, 22 Dirk Barnard

Coaches: Piet Cloete, Martin Oosthuizen, Jacques Wolfaardt, Walter Lutch

Paarl Gimnasium; 15 Wyatt Murphy, 14 Leaviel Gouws, 13 Grant Hermanus, 12 Ryan Oosthuizen (vice-captain), 11 Dylon Fairbridge, 10 Walter Smit, 9 Brendon Nell, 8 Rikus Bothma (captain), 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Gareth Cilliers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Johan Momsen, 3 DJ van Niekerk, 2 Wilner Conradie, 1 Gavin van den Berg

Replacements: 16 Jasper Wiese, 17 Regardt Louw, 18 Jaco Willemse, 19 Edrich-John Pretorius, 20 Luhandré Luus, 21 Zandré de Koker, 22 , 23 Ruan Stander

Coaches: Christoff Lötter, Hendrik Weber

Referee: Jason Jaftha (South African Referees' Association)