Milnerton heroics highlight the beauty of the school game
WRAP: Milnerton’s never-say-die attitude earned them a memorable win over Rondebosch while the Paarl schools flexed their muscles on a big weekend for the schoolboy game.
Jeppe High edged Grey College 22-19 at the North-South tournament last month.
The largely unexpected result marked Jeppe’s inaugural win against the schoolboy powerhouse, and sent shockwaves throughout the South African community.
On Saturday afternoon, social media was abuzz in the wake of yet another major upset.
Milnerton – who had shown signs of potential in preceding matches against Boland Lanbou and St Charles – travelled to Cape Town’s southern suburbs and claimed a magnificent 34-33 victory over Rondebosch.
According to some schoolboy rankings, Rondebosch are among the top 20 teams in the country, whereas Milnerton are a lot further down the list (Ruggas.co.za ranked the Western Cape side at 88th).
And so, in the lead-up to the game at the Tinkie Heyns Field, Rondebosch were touted as favourites to secure a one-sided victory.
Rondebosch scored five unanswered tries and held a 33-3 lead as the game entered the final 15 minutes. Thereafter, Milnerton completed the most unlikely of comebacks – with two-try hero Keagan Wood leading charge.
While high winds and unfavourable kicking conditions dominated the conversation at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday evening, they did little to deter Chadwin Sellidon in the earlier fixture at Rondebosch.
The Milnerton flyhalf held his nerve to nail a touchline conversion that gave his side the lead – and ultimately a famous win.
It was a remarkable result for Milnerton, and yet another reminder that the “smaller” schools have the potential to challenge the big boys and secure the odd win on any given Saturday.
It remains to be see whether Milnerton will build on that result in the coming weeks.
The “big” schools, however, will have noted what Jeppe and Milnerton have achieved, and should be wary of complacency.
While Affies are hardly one of the “smaller” sides in the country, they made a big statement when they beat Garsfontein 33-31 on Saturday.
The result marked Affies’ first victory in this particular Pretoria derby in three years.
Paarl Boys maintained their unbeaten record when they downed Oakdale 19-10 on Saturday.
The margin of victory may have been greater, had Boishaai not conceded three yellow cards throughout the contest.
Paarl Gym continued their dominant run, claiming an emphatic 47-13 victory over Boland Landbou. Outside centre Markus Muller dotted down for three of his side’s seven tries.
Pieter Rossouw’s charges have won all four of their matches by 17 points or more, and it’s little wonder they’re being talked up in some quarters as the No 1 schoolboy team in the country.
Will we see another big upset this season – possibly down in Paarl?
Recent form suggests this is unlikely, but after what happened to Grey College and Rondebosch in recent weeks, you simply can’t rule out the possibility.
* To see all the weekend’s results, CLICK HERE!
