Mighty Comeback in Pretoria

St Benedict's of Bedfordview played Pretoria Boys High on Brooks Field at Pretoria Boys High. The home side won 31-29, but only after a massive, thrilling comeback after Bennies had led 29-0.

In the first half St Benedict's cut Pretoria Boys High to pieces and scored five tries in the first 29 minutes. St Benedict's dominated territory and possession and it took Pretoria Boys High more than 30 minutes to get their first first-phase possession in the opposition’s 22. St Benedict's’ national sprinter and Golden Lions Craven Week elect right wing, Masowa Mafuma scored a hat-trick of tries within 29 minutes. No.8 Nyasha Tarusenga made a number of telling line breaks.

At half-time St Benedict's led 29-0. Boys High's head coach, Mike Housden, told the boys that based on their performance in the first half they were not worthy of wearing the first team jersey and he instructed them to take off their candy stripe first-team jerseys while listening to what they had done wrong in the first half and what they needed to do in the second half to rescue their season.

In the second half Pretoria Boys High started using their forwards, and they used the driving maul from line-outs, which sucked in the St Benedict's defenders, to great effect. Shortly after the re-start left wing Sipho Phiri scored Pretoria Boys High’ first of five tries when the Pretoria Boys High backline created an overlap.

Thereafter St Benedict's launched one attack after the other and it required a crucial turn-over by Pretoria Boys High underneath their own posts, which brought them a defensive penalty, to turn the tide.

Three players were shown yellow cards in the second half: one Pretoria Boys High player (while he was off the field his team scored two tries) and late in the match St Benedict's lost two players with yellow cards.

St Benedict's will probably rue their decision to take a tap penalty in front of Pretoria Boys High’ posts instead of going for the three points and when their star wing Mafuma limped off with an injury, Pretoria Boys High realised that it might just be their day.

With three minutes to go Pretoria Boys High scored their fourth try to make it 29-24 in favour of the visitors. When Pretoria Boys High missed the easy conversion it meant that they had to score a converted try to clinch an unlikely victory.

With one minute to go, Pretoria Boys High launched a last, frenetic attack on St Benedict's line, taking the ball up with their forwards to the right-hand side of the field, before hitting to the left with their back-line. With two St Benedict's’ players off the field with yellow cards, Pretoria Boys High’ outside centre Dillon Pirie had little difficulty in finding a gap and galloping over for his team’s fifth try to tie the scores at 29 all.

Dillon Pirie made no mistake with the conversion from 15 metres in to take the score to 31-29 and to seal the greatest come-back Pretoria Boys High’ candy stripe jerseys had made in many a year.

Scorers:

Pretoria Boys High:

Tries: Sipho Phiri, Mitchel Baumann, Dillon Pirie 2, Joshua Chesno

Cons: : Dillon Pirie 3

St Benedict's:

Tries: Masowa Mafuma 3, Geo Louw, Tapiwa Mangwana

Cons: Vito Kotton 2

Teams:

Pretoria Boys High: 15 Jordan Williams (Joshua Chesno), 14 Armand Mare, 13 Dillon Pirie, 12 Rossouw Basson, 11 Sipho Phiri, 10, Dylan Neser, 9 Tristan Eve, 8 Mitchell Baumann, 7 Frikkie de Bruin, 6 Rupert Louw, 5 Geor Schulze, 4 Ryan Carlson, 3 Mahao `Tiny’ Mukhari, 2 bViaan Janse van Rensburg, 1 Jake Blew (captain)

Coaches: Mike Housden, Mike Smuts

St Benedict's: 15 Katleho Tsotetsi, 14 Masowa Mafuma, 13 Matteo Biffi, 12 Vito Kotton, 11 Andrew Worthington, 10 Tatenda Gochera, 9 Geo Louw, 8 Nyasha Tarusenga, 7 Tapiwa Mangwana, 6 Christopher Worthington, 5 Daniel de Jesus, 3' Tatenda Zhoya, 2 Takwa Nyamasoka, 1 Luca Bezzi.

Coaches: Dwight Egelhoff, Morné Nel

Report from Pretoria

Photo: Mitchell Baumann with the ball supported by Geor Schulze and  Dylan Neser

Photographer:  Alwyn Myburgh