Grey edge HTS Middelburg in thriller
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A late penalty saw Grey College secure a hard-fought 22-19 victory over HTS Middelburg in the last game at the Kearsney Easter Festival on Thursday.
The final game on the first day of the festival was blown by international referee Craig Joubert, until he went off just before half-time with a hamstring twinge.
Early pressure by Grey resulted in a try by centre Gerrie Koegelenberg, converted by flyhalf Mario Vieira, for a 7-0 lead which eventually resulted in a thrilling 22-19 victory.
Middelburg then scored one of the best tries of the day when flank JC Pretorius handled a number of times in a move that swept downfield. He finished off the movement scoring just to the left of the uprights. Fullback Francois de Villiers converted to level the scores.
Speedster Dian Gouws, on the right wing for Grey, had a good run down the touchline and fullback Jandre de Beer was on hand to finish off with a try for Grey. Just before half-time wing Dawid Snyman cut his way through the Middelburg defensive line to score under the poles. A successful conversion by Vieira took them to a half-time lead of 19-7.
The second half saw HTS Middelburg rallying and enjoying some good phases. Prop JP Mans dived over from a ruck for HTS Middelburg’s second try, to close the gap to 12-19. A concerted effort on the tryline then saw flank Pretorius score his second try with two minutes remaining. Brandon Par-Bailey converted to level the score at 19-19.
In the final seconds, Grey was awarded a penalty close to the half-way line which was converted by Vieira for a narrow 22-19 win for Grey.
This ended a tremendous first day with plenty of movement resulting in some good tries and setting the scene for another great day on Saturday.
The scorers:
For Grey College:
Tries: Koegelenberg, De Beer, Snyman
Cons: Vieira 2
Pen: Vieira
For HTS Middelburg:
Tries: Pretorius 2, Mans
Cons: De Villiers, Par-Bailey
Teams:
Grey College: 15 Sentle Lehoko, 14 Dian Gouws, 13 Gerrie Koegelenberg, 12 PR Serfontein, 11 Dawid Snyman, 10 Mario Vieira, 9 Niel Durow, 8 Werner Roberts, 7 Hardus Nel, 6 Johan Dippenaar, 5 Marius Kruger, 4 George Rossouw, 3 IG Prinsloo, 2 Matthew Wessels, 1 Raynard Esterhuizen,
Replacements: 16 Daniel Rust, 17 Gideo Beukes, 18 Stef Brits, 19 Janco van Tonder, 20 Wihan Kloppers, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Jaco Wessels, 23 Louwrens Steenkamp.
HTS Middelburg: 15 Brandon Par-Bailey, 14 Ryan Cloete, 13 Jacques du Toit, 12 Ruan Luddick, 11 Lewin Bronkhorst, 10 Reynard van As, 9 Francois de Villiers, 8 Erik Basson (captain), 7 Derik Willemse, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Tiaan Botha, 4 Eduan Mare, 3 Neven Nel, 2 Gerik Mynhardt, 1 JP Mans.
Replacements: 16 Walter Janse van Rensburg, 17 Ruben Cross, 18 Phillip Hennop, 19 Bernard Kotzenberg, 20 Jandré Venter, 21 Waldo Conradie, 22 Brandon Weyers.
Referee: Craig Joubert
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