Grey Day 1 - in the wind
It's Port Elizabeth and so a wind is blowing. In the first match when Marlow and Graeme College met, the wind was with Graeme in the first half.
Because of the wind, play was mainly confined to forwards and handling was tricky.
Graeme attacked first and scored first when they drove a maul over the Marlow line for a try credited to Bongo Adams.
Marlow came back and after multiple phases, Johan Botha levelled the scores.
That made it 5-all at half-time.
Then Marlow had the wind, and they gradually stretched away from the brave and determined team from Grahamstown.
First, excellent flyhalf Claude Jacobs dummied, sidestepped, accelerated, swerved and scored under the posts, and it was 12-5. Then he kicked a penalty goal. 15-5.
Graeme kept trying and with barely a minute to play were running the ball when the handling broke down. Troy Delport footed through, picked up the ball and passed to Juanré Snyman who scored. Inevitably Jacobs converted to make the final score 22-5.
Scorers
For Marlow:
Tries: Johan Botha, Claude Jacobs. Juanré Snyman
Cons: Claude Jacobs 2
Pen: Claude Jacobs
For Graeme:
Try: Bongo Adams
Queen's vs Saints
In the second match scores were level at half-time, but Queen's College of Queenstown, playing into the wind in the second half, outplayed St Stithians to win an exciting match 21-17.
The match was exciting because of the closeness of the scoring but it was riddled with handling errors in the strong wind.
Queen's had first use of the wind but Saints scored first. From a scrum flyhalf Deon Fourie kicked a grubber into the Queen's in-goal where Okhela Mbadamana fell on the ball for a try which Fourie converted.
Queen's then went through several phases with excellent interpassing till right wing Liyabona Maku beat two defenders to score a try converted by livewire scrumhalf Aview Kanuka. 7-7.
Saints attacked first in the second half and went right from a scrum. Outside centre Munashe Chaitezwi simply raced past the defence to score. 12-7.
Back came Queen's on the attack and from a scrum they bashed at the Saints' line till burly flank Othandwayo Nogqala picked the ball up off the ground and forced his way over for the try and Queen's took the lead at 14-12.
Saints were at the Queen's line and were actually over when they were penalised for playing the ball while on the ground, and clearly so.
Saints came back on the attack, and Chaitezwi made good ground down the right, beating two opponents before passing inside to tall Ronin van der Westhuizen who scored. 17-14 to Saints with 12 minutes to play.
Queen's kept running with the ball into the wind. When they were bundled into touch at the corner, Saints threw in but lost control of the line-out. Kanuka grabbed the ball, and Nogqala burst through Chaitezwi to score at the posts. 21-17.
Queen's led 21-17 and in the time remaining kept running and passing till time was up and the victory was theirs. Three tries each but conversions made the difference.
Scorers:
For Queen's:
Tries: Liyabona Maku, Othandwayo Nogqala 2
Cons: Aview Kanuka 3
For St Stithians:
Tries: Okhela Mbadamana, Munashe Chaitezwi, Ronin van der Westhuizen
Con: Deon Fourie
There was a time when Garsfontein were scoring tries and leading 27-7. That was in the second half when they were playing with the strong wind, but then they suffered a severe setback. A lock was redcarded for foul talk to the referee rather than foul play and then with minutes left, Nico Malan came back and the score was 27-22.
Nico Malan had their tails up but then lost the ball and were down near their line where scrumhalf Keagan Johannes dummied, darted and dived for a try under the posts. The match ended after Diego Appollis's conversion. Garsfontein won 27-22.
Nico Malan scored first. They had the wind and were well on the attack when nippy flyhalf Delron Dicken scored under the posts and converted for a 7-0 lead.
Two tries by Garsfontein gave them the lead. The first was after a tapped penalty by flank Etienne Terblanche, the second by Tiaan Lensley after a great break by fullback Juandré Scheepers.
Half-time came with Garsies leading 10-7.
Three tries built on that foundation – by Jurich Claasens after a run of 48 metres, converted by Keagan Johannes, then by Appollis, an SA Schools player in 20017 and then by Kallie Calitz.
Then a lock departed and Nico Malan fought back.
After a succession of penalties Johan Barnard scored. Then a strong run by flank Hendri du Toit brought them back onto the attack and flyhalf Dicken kicked a penalty goal. 27-15 with time enough to win,
Back came Nico Malan with good work by Werner Louw that ended in a try by inside centre Jayron Draghoender which Dicken converted. 27-22, and Nico Malan were on a roll.
The fairy-tale ending was not to be, as handling broke down and Johannes scored, injuring himself in the brave process.
Scorers
For Garsfontein:
Tries: Etienne Terblanche, Tiaan Lensley, Jurich Claasens, Diego Appollis, Kallie Calitz, Keagan Johannes
Cons: Keagan Johannes, Diego Appollis
For Nico Malan:
Tries: Delron Dicken, Johan Barnard, Jayron Draghoender
Cons: Delron Dicken 2
Pen: Delron Dicken
DHS were playing against St Andrew's in their white outfits and DHS were playing into the wind but leading 10-0. You would have thought that this was a certain win for DHS and you, too, would have been wrong.
The wind does not score points. DHS scored 10 into the wind and five with it. St Andrew's scored 12 with the wind and 19 into it.
Both DHS tries at the start of the match were scored after long runs down the left wing by scrumhalf Jaydian Cedras. For the first he went blind from a tackle near touch and ran 40 metres. That happened inside the first minute if the match. For the second he ran 50 metres, and DHS led 10-0 after 12 minutes.
But then St Andrew's scored two tries, the first by inside centre Charlie Fleming, which Ryan Thompson converted, the second by lock Matthew Hillary when St Andrew's were stopped right at the DHS line and the referee decided that Hillary had scored. 12-10, which was the half-time score.
Now DHS had the strong wind, but scored only once.
Matthew Hillary scored the first points of the half when he picked up at a tackle thing and galloped away for a try under the posts. 19-10.
DHS got on the attack and, when St Andrew's were penalised, they tapped and charged at the line. Burly tighthead Mathokisi Gumede took a short pass and forced his way over for the try. 19-15.
St Andrew's scored two more tries, Tall centre Ant More cut in strongly, handed off to defenders and forced his way over for a try, which Thompson converted.
After St Andrew's were close on the left wing, right wing Thompson had a strong run for his try, the final points of the match which St Andrew's certainly deserved to win.
The final score was 31-15.
Scorers:
For St Andrew's:
Tries: Charlie Fleming, Matthew Hillary 2, Ant More, Ryan Thompson
Cons: Ryan Thompson 3
For DHS:
Tries: Jaydian Cedares 2, Mathokisi Gumede
The last kick of the match was the telling one.
At half-time the score was 10-5. With two minutes to play the score was 10-5 and then Jeppe set on the Dale line with a rumbling maul. They bashed at the line. They were oh-so close and then with strength and determination flyhalf Muzi Manyike forced his way over for the try. 10-10 with the conversion to come. And in that strong win Manyike converted and the final whistle went. Jeppe had beaten disconsolate Dale 12-10.
Dale scored first. On a day when handling was difficult Dale indulged in a spree of interpassing. It was by some way the best handling on the day and a strong run by flank Lathi-Thaa Lukasi, the captain of the side. And it was rewarded with a try scored by Mzwamazizi Ngalo. Tall outside centre Indiphile Tyeda converted. 7-0.
Jeppe used the strenmgth of their forwards, with pick-'n-goes and eventually they were at the line and Manyike scored. 7-5.
Then came a moment that will not be entirely forgotten. Jeppe were penalised just inside the Dale half and Dale, playing with the wind, decided to kick at goal. Lanky Tyeda took the kick, which was straight in front of the posts 50,5 metres away.. Scrumhalf Thando Zoki kept a finger on the ball to stop it from rolling away. Tyeda kicked the ball which soared high in the wind till gravity's tug pulled it down but not before it had cleared the upright. 10-5, the half-time score that stayed till just before the final whistle.
Scorers:
For Jeppe:
Tries: Muzi Manyike 2
Con: Muzi Manyike
For Dale:
Try: Mzwamazizi Ngalo
Con: Indiphile Tyeda
Pen: Indiphile Tyeda
Selborne had the better of both halves, into and with the strong wind as they beat KES 29-3.
Interestingly, this match possibly had the best handling of the day with short passes in front of the recipient.
Playing into the wind, Selborne attacked first with advancing phases till lock Nolan Kemp scored. Scrumhalf Thomas Bursey converted. 7-0 after 4 minutes.
KES came back, pummelling at the Selborne line. The brave defenders forced waves of attack back from their line, till eventually KES settled for a penalty goal by flyhalf Reece Botha. It was to be their only score of the game.
When Selborne bashed at the KES line, Bursey was close and then the everywhere man Jacques Goosen was over for a try which Bursey converted to make the half-time score 14-3.
Bursey, by the way, has many admirable qualities of passing that senior players could emulate.
Selborne scored three times in the second half.
Goosen scored the first of them. 21-3.
Then Bursey lobbed a box kick into empty space and right wing Jarod Ramsey chased the ball for an easy try. 26-3.
Then came the freakish kick. From over 40 metres pout and at an angle to the right, the Selborne captain, Sibabalwe Xamlashe, goaled a penalty that did not ever look like missing. 29-3, the Final Score.
Scorers:
For Selborne:
Tries: Nolan Kemp, Jacques Goosen 2, Jarod Ramsey
Cons: Thomas Bursey 3
Pen: Sibabalwe Xamlashe
For KES:
Pen: Reece Botha
The wind abated for the last match of the day when hosts Grey played St John's of Johannesburg. Abated did not mean that there was no wind, just not the same force as earlier in the day.
St John's played into the wind fist but by half-time Grey were leading 12-3 and then in the second half they scored another 26 points for a 38-3 win.
The first score was a while in coming and it was Renaldo Pedro who set up a try for right wing Joshua Oosthuizen. %-0, which became 5-3 when St John's flyhalf, Bismarck Olivier, goaled a penalty for a high tackle.
From a line-out, Ryan Adams raced up field . Quick passes to the left saw outside centre Liyema Matyolweni score. Matt Easton did well to convert from far out. 12-3, which was the half-time score.
In the second half St John's continued to be brave but they had no answer to the skill of the Grey side.
Easton threaded through a grubber which Oosthuizen ran onto for his second try. 19-3.
Grey attacked the St John's line, getting close and then closer till they went wide left where Daniel Ho scored in the corner. 24-3.
The next try was spectacular. From a scrum, Easton, gave a short pass to outside centre Matyolweni who had come in from wider out and the centre simply raced through the gap and then 40 metres on for the try. 31-3.
The last try started with phases right and then phases left till there was a three-man overlap which fullback Enrique Franks used to score a try which Easton converted to make the final score 38-3
Scorers
For Grey:
Tries: Joshua Oosthuizen 2, Liyema Matyolweni 2, Daniel Ho
Cons: Matt Easton 3
For St John's:
Pen: Bismarck Olivier
Fixtures, Day 2