Grey outclass Parktown in festival finale
The hosts were much too good for their opponents on the second and final day of the Grey High Rugby Festival in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
After defeating Jeppe on the opening day, Grey coasted home against their Johannesburg opponents, with vice-captain and centre Aya Matroos setting the pattern for the match with two early tries.
Even when Parktown did mount an offensive, they often found a way to lose possession, allowing the pacey Grey backs to feed off their mistakes with a couple of long-range scores.
The home team added three more tries in the second half for a decisive 52-0 victory.
The main curtain-raiser set the trend for the festival’s final game as strong-running wing Matthew Robertson scored a hat-trick of tries in Graeme’s comfortable 46-0 result against an outgunned Ithembelihle outfit.
The Graemians led 20-0 at half-time and in the second half, lock Donovan Brits had a field day, crossing for two tries and kicking three conversions for a personal tally of 16 points.
Earlier, Durban High School and Jeppe delivered arguably the match of the day, with the KwaZulu-Natal side running out victors 34-31 in a high-octane thriller.
Trailing 31-24 with time running out, DHS closed the gap to two points thanks to a powerful 30-metre run by towering lock Celempilo Gumede for a try in the corner.
The conversion was missed but with two minutes on the clock, the Johannesburg side seemed to have matters in hand. However, a Jeppe handling error just inside DHS’s half saw them cough up possession for Durban centre Lwandile Menze to take the final pass, sprinting 50 metres for the match-winning try.
Befitting their approach to the game, Jeppe never gave up and gained the ball from the kick-off with seconds remaining. However, DHS’s defence held firm and an infringement was followed by the final whistle.
Both sides showed good intent on attack, with Jeppe scoring five tries and DHS six. They were deadlocked at 19-19 at halftime.
In an equally exhilarating finish, Louis Botha Tech snatched victory in the dying seconds against Daniel Pienaar when Saul Renvin sprinted over in the corner for a 24-20 win.
After watching Dylan le Roux put Daniel Pienaar ahead 20-19 with a 50-metre penalty, the Bloem boys hit back in stunning fashion for their second win of the tournament.
The sides were well-matched throughout, each scoring two tries in the first half to turn at 12-12.
Louis Botha then went ahead through a fine try by centre Ralston Dreyer before the Uitenhagers edged their way back into the lead.
Finally, though, a break down the right-hand flank saw Saul on hand to dash over for the narrowest of wins.
Making their only appearance of the festival, St Andrew’s overturned a 7-0 deficit at half-time to defeat St John’s 21-10 in a hard-fought encounter marked by determined defence.
In particular, the Grahamstown side showed great resolve in the final 10 minutes to keep St John’s at bay as the Johannesburg side pressed hard on attack.
After leading 7-5 at half-time, thanks to a fine try by centre Matt More, St Andrew’s stretched their lead with further scores from James Quarmby and Oscar Evans. More added the conversions to give the Andreans a relatively comfortable buffer.
St David’s Marist produced a well-controlled performance to make up for their opening loss to Pearson by outplaying Muir 25-0 in the day’s first game.
Although Muir had a number of chances in attack, the Johannesburg team, besides showing good offensive capabilities, also stood firm in defence to deny their opponents any points.
The highlight of the game was a terrific run by left wing Kieran Wrightson who set off from inside his own half to waltz past a couple of defenders for a try under the posts.
In other action, Pearson, who suffered three serious injuries on the first day, pushed Dale all the way before losing 22-15, while Die Brandwag were too much for Hudson Park, running out comfortable 26-5 victors.
Day 2 Results
St David's vs Muir, 25-0
St Andrew's vs St John's, 21-10
DHS vs Jeppe, 34-31
Louis Botha vs Daniël Pienaar, 24-20
Graeme vs Itembelihle, 46-0
Grey vs Parktown, 52-0
Dale vs Pearson, 22-15
Die Brandwag vs Hudson Park, 26-5
Day 1 Results
Dale vs Daniël Pienaar, 33-12
DHS vs Die Brandwag, 42-24
Grey vs Jeppe, 36-22
Hudson Park vs Despatch, 31-7
Louis Botha vs Itembelihle, 48-8
Parktown vs Muir, 26-7
Pearson vs St David's 27-13
St John's vs Queen's, 13-7
From Neale Emslie
