Graeme College's Great Win
Graeme College had a tough start to the derby against Nico Malan on Saturday.
There were some epic contests that went down to the wire, but Nico Malan seemed to keep edging Graeme at the final moments of the game.
With time up, the 2nds conceded a penalty in front of the poles, which Nico Malan converted to snatch victory, and that seemed to sum up the day for Graeme.
With two games left in the day, Graeme had not managed to win a game yet, but the Under-16A side then produced an incredible performance, underpinned by their enormous defensive abilities. Graeme won their first game by the smallest of margins setting up he final showdown of the day.
The Nico Malan side had been in fine form and the Graeme side knew just how difficult the task ahead of them was. The 1st XV match was a mouth-watering encounter that Graeme sealed in the final play of the match to win 24-18.
Nico Malan played with the wind in the first half and put Graeme under lots of pressure with some good tactical kicking. The game followed the script that Nico Malan had wanted, and they found themselves 13-0 up at half-time after using the wind superbly well.
Graeme would’ve been happy at their defensive effort and believed they could stage a comeback playing with the wind if they could hold onto the ball. Graeme though replied with a significant and game changing try early in the second half.
What followed was a sublime, if not inch perfect, second-half performance from the Graeme side, as they went into the lead for the first time. Nico Malan hit back to take a 18–17 lead with only a few minutes remaining. Graeme, though, continued their second half onslaught and produced another moment of excellence as they scored close to time, to win 24-18. They needed to be at their very best to beat a very impressive Nico Malan side.
The Graeme junior school had a great set of fixtures against Grey, which were keenly contested. Grey won the big games, but Graeme managed to get in a few great wins.
By Gregg von Molendorff
