Grey come back in thrilling fashion

Twice in one week. This is too much. It happened in Potchefstroom and now it happened in Stellenbosch as Grey PE came from behind – well behind at 26-0 – to win 27-26 with the last kick of the match.

After 50 minutes Paul Roos looked certain winners. With just 20 minutes to play they led 26-0 after scoring four tries. They were playing with great confidence. In the last 20 minutes they did not score a point while Grey scored 26.

Was it a matter of substitutes?

Paul Roos had named substitutes who had not played but who got a game late in the match. This included both halfbacks. Grey's changes were for injuries. Otherwise, despite the heat, their players played on for 70 minutes.

The heat in windless Stellenbosch was enormous – 36°C at kick-off, and there were no water breaks.

Was it the penalty count?

The penalty count was 14-4 against Paul Roos and two of those came in the last two minutes. The first hit the upright and stayed out; the second was a winner.

The kicker was Curwin Bosch, the 16-year-old from Alexandria just outside of Port Elizabeth. He had played in 2013 and his boot made the difference. This year he found it had to get on target, kicking just three out of eight, but the third made up for all the misses.

Was the time wrong?

Time – 70 minutes – was up when Paul Roos kicked out, leading 26-24. But the line-out was allowed, Grey mauled and Paul Roos were penalised for collapsing the maul. That was the penalty that Bosch goaled.

And that is how the score will remain and be famous.

There were ceremonies to start with and singing from the packed Markötter Field.

Paul Roos started much the better. Matt Gallow put pressure on Grey with a kick ahead down the tight. Then Aidynn Cupido, Wilfred's lanky son, started a counterattack. Paul Roos were over the line but held up. From the five-metre scrum they bashed again and this time Cupido scooted around a defender and scored under the posts, a try which he converted. 7-0.

There was at this stage a lot of kicking in the match and it is significant that Grey's coach's instructions at half-time  when they were losing 12-0 was to stop kicking, and the player who took this most successfully to heart was fullback Keanu Vers.

Vers ran, chipped, gathered and passed a perfect pass to wing Athie Mayinje but the wing dropped the ball with an unguarded goal-line beckoning.

Lock Emile Cloete burst from a line-out and set Paul Roos on the attack. They bashed on the left and then went wide right where Nico Leonard had an easy run-in for the try. 12-0 after 31 minutes.

Johann van Niekerk of Grey and Jacques Oosthuizen of Paul Roos but burst away on strong runs.

The try that started the scoring in the second half was delightful in its simplicity. Paul Roos threw in deep and Oosthuizen gave a simple pass to Herschel Jantjies who turned right at the end of the line-out and raced more than 20 metres to score. Cupido converted. 19-0 after 43 minutes.

And Jantjies nearly did it again a minute later. Cupido was tackled near the half-way line. Jantjies picked up, ran and chipped. He chased the ball which bounced into the Grey in-goal. He led the chase but as he dived to ground the ball. Mayinje's outstretched leg kicked the ball dead.

Paul Roos attacked down the tight with Gallow and Morné Taljaard leading the attack. Stopped near the line Paul Roos got the ball back inside to prop Jerome Korf who powered his way over for the try. Cupido converted. 26-0 after 50 minutes.

Now the drama started and gathered momentum.

At a scrum just outside the Grey 22, Paul Roos were freekicked. Vers tapped and raced down the middle of the field, splitting the defence wide open. He gave a pass to left wing Nathan Brown. The pass was slightly behind but Brown pulled it in with his right hand and raced 40 metres to score. Bosch converted. 24-7 after 52 minutes.

Paul Roos kicked on Vers who, under pressure, beat three Paul Roos players and again split the defence in midfield. He ran from his 22 to the Paul Roos 22 and gave to Mayinje on this left and the wing, tackled by Reinhardt Fortuin managed to get over the line for the try. 26-12 after 53 minutes.

Fortuin missed a 44m kick at goal and Vers ran from inside his own in-goal. Grey attacked down the left in phases and then went wide right where hooker Robin Stevens ran well and gave to Mayinje on the overlap and the wing raced 22 metres to score. Bosch converted. 26-19 after 59 minutes.

In just 10 minutes of the match four tries had been scored, and there was still more to come.

Again went right where again Stevens was at outside centre. This time he dummied and headed for the line but was pulled down just short. Grey piled in and the ball went to burly eighthman Josh Mudrovcic who scored in the corer. 26-24 with 6 minutes to play.

Bosch kicked a penalty from his own 22 to five metres from the Paul Roos line for a Grey line-out. They bashed but, miraculously, Paul Roos won a turnover and Grey were penalised though they had 'scored' in the right corner.

With two minutes to go, Bosch kicked a penalty at goal but it hit the upright and stayed out. Paul Roos got the ball and ground on till time was up when they kicked out, but there was no whistle, just a line-out, a penalty and the winning goal by Bosch.

Like the Varsity Cup Final, it was wonderful to see rugby players abandon the  platitudes and recipes of mediocrity, chuck aside, composure, patience, structures, game plan and the tight to go wide as they lived outside themselves in search of victory.

Scorers:

For Grey:

Tries: Brown, Mayinje 2, Mudrovcic

Cons: Bosch 2

Pen: Bosch

For Paul Roos:

Tries: Cupido, Leonard, Jantjies, Korf

Cons: Cupido 3

Teams

Paul Roos: 15 Morné Taljaard, 14 Nico Leonard, 13 Matthew Gallow, 12 Edrich Venter, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Aidynn Cupido, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Joa Swart, 7 Mitchell Carstens, 6 Jacques Oosthuizen, 5 Emile Cloete, 4 Louis Conradie, 3 Christiaan Hamman, 2 Jacques van Zyl, 1 Muammir Salie

Replacements:, 16 Carl Prinsloo, 17 Robert Matthee, 18 Jerome Korf, 19 Dean van Tonder, 20 Calvin Nell, 21 Reinhardt Fortuin, 22 Joshua Vermeulen

Grey: 15 Keanu Vers, 14 Athi Mayinje, 13 Richie Bryant, 12 Jeremy Ward, 11 Nathan Brown, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Brody van Goeverden, 8 Josh Mudrovcic, 7 Matthew Lawson, 6 Johann van Niekerk (captain), 5 Kavan Trzebiatowsky, 4 Michael de Marco, 3 Dylan Barendse, 2 Robin Stevens, 1 Matthew Howes

Replacements (who had played for Grey 2nd XV and were used only for injuries): 16 Wahl Enslin, 17 Keegan Branford, 18 Hanno Minnaar; 19 Joe Rooiakker, 20 Paul Briggs, 21 Mohamed Connolly, 22 Tristan Jonas

Referee: Daniel Fortuin (Western Province Referees' Society)

Results Down the Years

2005: Grey vs Paul Roos, 14-14 in PE

2006: Paul Roos vs Grey, 28-14 in Stellenbosch

2007: Paul Roos vs Grey, 31-17 in PE

2008: Grey vs Paul Roos, 23-19 in Stellenbosch

2009: Paul Roos vs Grey, 20-13 in PE

2010: Paul Roos vs Grey, 43-37 in Stellenbosch

2011: Paul Roos vs Grey, 22-19 in PE

2012: Grey vs Paul Roos, 23-19 in Stellenbosch

2013: Grey vs Paul Roos, 23-18 in PE

2014: Grey vs Paul Roos, 27-26 in Stellenbosch