Kearsney too Strong
Kearsney ended their rugby season on a high beating Clifton 66-10 in a highly entertaining match in Botha's Hill, coinciding with Founders’ weekend which attracted a good crowd on a perfect wintry afternoon.
The first points came from a kick and chase by Kearsney when Clifton were unable to control the ball and the hosts’ left wing Cian Waugh dived on the ball in the left corner. James Tedder converted from the touch line for an early 7-0 lead.
Kearsney scored their second try immediately from the kick off. Hooker Josh van Vuuren broke blind and fed scrumhalf Brendan Vorster who passed to wing Mitchell Nesbit to score in the right corner. Tedder converted.
The hosts’ third try was quite spectacular and originated from a turnover close to their 22m line. Kearsney sniped blind and good inter-play between forwards and backs made huge yardage before a ruck formed from a Clifton tackle. The ball was fed to Van Vuuren who played back inside to a galloping Tristan Dixon who fed lock Ryan Jackson who in turn delivered a well-timed pass to Cullen Waberski to dive over for a converted try and lead of 21-0.
The next try came from a handling error by the visitors’ backs which Kearsney scooped and carried blind. The forwards created a line break with Dixon scoring under the posts for another Tedder-converted try.
Kearsney ran rampant and only desperation defence saved further scoring. Good continuity, with disciplined offload passes, stretched the Clifton defence to the maximum. Wing Nesbit's second try was a brilliant solo effort after collecting a box kick in his own half. He took on the advancing opposition and with strong running, stepping and swerving scored in the right corner. Tedder converted.
Straight from the kick-off Dixon had a strong run, drawing and passing to flank Luke Croshaw, to score next to the upright. Tedder successfully converted for the hosts to lead 42-0.
Kearsney scored another two spectacular tries before the break after a fightback by Clifton. Dixon turned the ball from deep in his own half after a Clifton attack. The backs handled well and some very good offloads between Jackson and Greg van Noordwyk saw the ever-present Van Vuuren collecting the final backhand pass to dot down. Tedder converted. The second try came from basic passing and support play which followed the kick-off. Centre Cameron Craze released fullback Waberski, with No.8 Brady Erlich feeding wing Nesbit for his third try of the match. Tedder converted for a half-time lead of 56-0.
With eight converted tries on the scoreboard it seemed as if Kearsney had a somewhat casual approach to the second half. Credit must be given to Clifton who came out with renewed focus and energy. They were rewarded with their first try which resulted from a line-out maul in the 15th minute. Their second came immediately from the kick-off after some good inter play and off loads. Both tries were unconverted for a 10-56 score line.
Kearsney regained composure and in the last 15 minutes produced a similar standard of play seen in the first half. Their penultimate try was scored by wing Nesbit for his fourth of the match. Fullback Waberski initiated a counterattack and, with a number of passes, the possession found Nesbit on the right side of the field. He outsprinted the cover defence to score an unconverted try.
Overeagerness forced a few handling errors by the hosts but they managed to score the last try after good counterattack play. Kearsney’s alert scrumhalf Vorster sniped through a small blind side to outsprint the visitors for a 40m effort, dotting in the left-hand corner.
The final score was 66-10 to Kearsney’s 1st XV, ending a successful day on the rugby field for the hosts.
By Sue Miles
