Kearsney, Day 2: Noord-Kaap's victory
Having narrowly lost their games on Thursday, both Noord-Kaap and Queen’s came out keen for a win in the first game on day two of the festival.
The two sets of big forwards were evenly matched but as the half progressed, so Noord-Kaap began winning a greater share of the ball. The three-quarters swung the ball from touchline to touchline, and the pressure told as Noord-Kaap scored five times in the first half. Queen’s only got close to the Noord-Kaap try-line once, but the Noord-Kaap defence was resolute.
Captain and flank Edrich Brand opened the scoring toward the end of the first quarter, converted by Cameron Hufke. The backs then came into their own, running the Queen’s defence awry. Left wing Maurice Amerika made a good break from midfield and he rounded the Queen’s defence to score for an easy conversion by Hufke.
Centre Yaseer Daniels was next to add a five-pointer as he received a long pass and he beat the defence to score in the corner for a 19-0 lead.
The final two tries went to fullback Hufke after good pressure and again the Queen’s defence let him through on the left. He was unable to convert his own try. Finally, to complete the first half scoring spree, right wing Andries Jacobs went over in the left corner. This time Hufke added the extra points and Noord-Kaap had a handsome 31-0 lead at the break.
Some stern talking by the Queen’s coaches saw them start winning ball and spending more time in the Noord-Kaap half.
This resulted in Queen’s forwards pressurising on the Noord-Kaap line. A ruck close to the line saw lock and captain Aaron Brody coming up with the ball. Keith Kroutz made no mistake with the wide conversion giving Queen’s their first points. It had taken them 11 minutes in the second half to trail 7-31.
The Eastern Cape boys continued to play the better rugby in the second half. A kick through when on attack saw Noord-Kaap pressurised into dotting down after carrying the ball back into the in-goal area. From the succeeding 5m scrum, the ball was swung and flyhalf Kroutz gifted through a gap to score under the uprights and converted to narrow the gap to 14-31.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, it was probably not enough time to get a win, but they continued to have the lion’s share of possession and territory.
The game ended with Noord-Kaap winning 31-14 but Queen’s showed great determination to come back and win the second half scoring two tries to nil.
Scorers:
For Hoërskool Noord-Kaap:
Tries: Cameron Hufke, Andries Jacobs, Yaseer Daniels, Maurice Amerika, Edrich Brand
Conversions: Cameron Hufke 3
For Queen’s College:
Tries: Keith Kroutz, Aaron Brody
Conversions: Keith Kroutz 2
