Rooibulle hold off spirited Middies

 

The red side of Middelburg emerged triumphant again for the sixth straight year, but they hold off a determined Middies side who were impressive either side of half-time before falling away towards the end of the game.

 

The visitors applied some early pressure but it would be Middies who drew first blood when flyhalf Chris Hanekom slotted a long-range penalty following a breakdown infringement.

 

However, they did not have the lead for long as a spilt ball in midfield saw the Rooibulle pounce and score the opening try in the corner.

 

They kept the pressure firmly on, with Middies forced to make a lot of tackles deep inside their own territory.

 

They had their second try before long, with athletic flank JC Pretorius powering his way over out wide to take their lead out to 10-3.

 

The Rooibulle's third try came soon afterwards as captain Eric Basson collected his own clever chip kick over the top and got the ball away on the inside to Chrisjan Steynberg who scored under the poles.

 

That left Middies with it all to do at 17-3 down and they charged into HTS territory and eventually got their first try after a patient build-up.

 

The visitors responded soon afterwards with some impressive driving play from their forward pack earning them a fourth try to take their lead out to 22-8.

 

Another penalty from the MHS flyhalf was followed up by a great try from outside centre Siyabonga Khaliswayo who collected a grubber to go over and cut the deficit to 22-16 at the half-time break.

 

Hanekom slotted another penalty at the start of the second half to bring his side within striking distance and they had the lead soon afterwards, with Khaliswayo showing a clean pair of heels to score in the corner and put his side 26-22 up.

 

Middies were struck a major blow when one of their players was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements as they desperately defended their tryline, but they managed to hold out while he was off the field and keep their lead.

 

The Rooibulle took the lead back through a brilliant break from Pretorius who got the ball in midfield and hit a gap before showing great pace and strength to crash over next to the poles.

 

The visitors had their tails up, and added to their lead through skipper Basson who took a quick tap from a scrum penalty and bashed his way over the line to take their lead out to 34-26.

 

The final nail in the Middies coffin came when Pretorius got over for his hat-trick try after getting an inside ball from Basson at the back of the scrum.

 

 

Tries: Du Toit, Khaliswayo 2

Con: Hanekom 

Pens: Hanekom 3

 

Tries: Basson 2, Pretorius 3, Steynberg, Mans

Cons: Parr-Bayley 2, Ludick

 

 

Middelburg Hoërskool: 15 Telvin Mhlongo, 14 Jacobs Jacobs, 13 Siyabonga Khaliswayo, 12 Cyprian Nkomo, 11 Fana Ngwenya, 10 Chris Hanekom, 9 Ruben Roodt, 8 Nefdt du Toit, 7 Phillip Olivier, 6 Wandile Shabangu, 5 Maius Verwey, 4 MJ Ackerman, 3 Duanne van Wyk, 2 Jopie Kuhn, 1 Steven Pieterse.

Replacements: 16 Marcel Dique, 17 Matthys Scwartz, 18 Mpumelelo Matias, 19 Joshua Mey, 20 Jadrich van der Merwe, 21 Andisqa Mndawe, 22 Frederik Greyling, 23 Johan Engelbrecht, 24 Ryan Phiri, 25 Lebogang Maloka, 26 Ricardo Steyn.

 

HTS Middelburg: 15 Ryan Cloete, 14 Waldo Conradie, 13 Jacques du Toit, 12 Ruan Ludick, 11 Zander Joubert, 10 Brandon Parr-Bayley, 9 Francois De Villiers, 8 Eric Basson (captain), 7 Chrisjan Steynberg, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Bernard Kotzenberg, 4 Philip Hennop, 3 Johandre Olckers, 2 Gerik Mynhardt, 1 JP Mans.

Replacements: 16 Walter Janse van Rensburg, 17 Neven Nel, 18 Gerhard Combrink, 19 Eduan Mare, 20 Tiaan Botha, 21 Jandre Venter, 22 Lewin Bronkhorst, 23 Boet Heyl.