“Hot” rugby in hot conditions

Warm winds drove the temperature up to 30° C at the start of the match between Selborne and St Andrew's in East London. The fitness of the teams was consequently severely tested. They, however, still produced attractive, attacking rugby in a match which Selborne won 43-19.  

St Andrew’s were the first to score when fullback, Grant Dixie, beat the defence to touch down in the fourth minute of the game. Anthony Dakin converted the try.

Selborne struck back with tries in the 12th, 15th, 20th and 25th minutes. Hooker, Cole van Tonder, scored two of these, while Thakga Boloko (wing) and Andile Koyana (flyhalf) scored spectacular, long-range tries. Boloko started a counterattack from close to his own try-line and was on hand to finish it by scoring the try. Koyana broke from near the half-way and then chased and gathered his own kick to score. Joshua Allderman converted three of the tries.

St Andrew’s replied with a try in the corner by Baron Boeteng Aidoo (wing) in the 28th minute. This made the half-time score 26-12 to Selborne.

Centre, David Brits, scored two tries for Selborne early in the second half. The first followed after he and Heinrich Nieuwenhuizen (flank) combined well to win the ball after a tackle, while the second resulted from a break by Phumzile Maqondwana (lock). Fullback, Michael Botha, scored Selborne’s final try in the 18th minute. Joshua Allderman succeeded with the conversion.

St Andrew’s never stopped working hard and were rewarded with a try in the 25th minute by flyhalf, Anthony Dakin. He also converted the try.

Despite numerous attacks, defences held in the last 10 minutes and there was no further scoring. This made Selborne deserved winners by 43 points to 19.

For Selborne, Leon Lyons (prop) and Andile Koyana (flyhalf) impressed with their high tackle count, while centres Sango Xamlashe and David Brits made great inroads on attack. For St Andrew’s, Anthony Dakin (flyhalf) and Ross Ferguson (centre) had fine all round games.

Scorers:

For Selborne:

Tries: Cole van Tonder 2, Thakga Boloko, Andile Koyana, David Brits 2, Michael Botha

Cons: Joshua Allderman 4

For St Andrew's:

Tries: Grant Dixie, Baron Boeteng Aidoo, Anthony Dakin

Cons: Anthony Dakin 2

Teams

Selborne: 15 Michael Botha, 14 James Bruce, 13 Tristian Coetzer, 12 David Brits (captain), 11 Thakga Boloko, 10 Andile Koyana, 9 Joshua Allderman, 8 Darren Lemmer, 7 Lutho Selem, 6 Heinrich Nieuwenhuizen, 5 Daniel Froneman (vice-captain), 4 Phumzile Maqondwana, 3 Daniel Voigt, 2 Cole van Tonder, 1 Leon Lyons

St Andrew's: 15 Gordon Everard, 14 Grant Dixie, 13 Baron Boateng-Aidoo, 12 Ross Ferguson, 11 Angus Cook, 10 Anthony Dakin, 9 Luke Alexandre, 8 Malcolm Pringle, 7 Seb Mulders, 6 Christopher Sherratt, 5 Daniel Tiffin, 4 Mathew Stopforth, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Mich Müller, 1 Sam Vrhovec

By Max Norman