Kearsney Festival: Drostdy stay Unbeaten
A blustery wind welcomed the players on to the Stott field for the first match of the final day of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival. In the blustery conditions kicking for points became difficult. Four kicks in succession were missed, two penalty kicks and a conversion by the Pretoria lads and a conversion by Drostdy.
HTS Drostdy forwards dominated at the breakdown and so their backline had more possession. When PBHS did win ball, mistakes presented any meaningful advance.
The first half was a stop-start affair with one serious injury when a Pretoria Boys High player was stretched off, taking about six minute of the running time, and a second head cut to their hooker, with play waiting for him to be bandaged.
However, it was two tries scored by the two Drostdy locks, Bronlee Mouries and Heinrich Naudé that gave the Western Cape team their points. Mouries use his 114kgs to force his way over. This try was converted by fullback Cohen Jasper to give them a 12-0 half-time lead.
The PBHS conversion was close to the touch line, after a try by lock Kgala Mothomogolo, following a quick penalty which was moved quickly to Mothomogolo who was unmarked on the outside. The score remained at 12-5 for the next 10 minutes.
Drostdy won the ball at the ruck and fullback Jasper used his pace down the short side to go over in the corner, but missed the conversion to extend their lead to 17-5.
The second half was much more evenly contested with the Pretoria lads stepping up and winning more of both possession and territory. Their defence was better. However, with just minutes to play, PBHS won a line-out on their own line, but it was ripped away by Drostdy. They passed to hooker Stefan Schwartz who caught the defence napping, going over in the corner. It gave Drostdy a 22-5 lead.
Romeo Eksteen, the regular scrumhalf, had come on and he galvanised Drostdy. He made a break, leaving the Pretoria defence in tatters, scoring under the posts. This time Jasper made no mistake, to leave the Western Cape team 29-5 winners.
Scorers:
For HTS Drostdy:
Tries: Bronlee Mouries, Heinrich Naudé, Cohen Jasper, Romeo Eksteen
Con: Cohen Jasper
For Pretoria Boys High:
Try: Kgala Mothomogolo
By Sue Miles of Working Words
Photo: Cohen Jasper in action
Photo: Tracey van Aardweg
