Single try seals it for Uppies
A first half try by HS Upington's Cobus Wiese, proved to be crucial in his side's 8-3 victory over rivals HS Duineveld in a Classic Clash on Saturday.
Approximately 3000 spectators packed out the pavilions for the highly anticipated main match between the rivals with cheering pupils adding to an electric atmosphere.
The match got off to a tense and hard-hitting start with both teams going giving it their all from the opening whistle. Upington would break the deadlock when Wiese rounded off a well-worked try to dot down in the corner.
That proved to be the only points in the first half as the visitors held a slender 5-0 lead at the interval.
Duineveld got off to a better start in the opening exchanges of the second half and enjoyed a period of territorial and possession dominance. That dominance was rewarded through the boot of flyhalf Ruan Mathews, who slotted a penalty within five minutes of the restart to narrow the deficit to just two points.
Uppies were not going to allow their hosts back in the game though as they immediately responded with a penalty of their own, through the boot of Benna Nieuwoud to restore their five-point advantage.
The home side were relentless in the final 20 minutes and came agonizingly close to snatching the lead on numerous occasions – even crossing the try line – only to be denied by a resilient Upington defence.
The visitors managed to thwart every attack thrown at them to hang onto their slender lead and win the match 8-3, much to the dismay of the Duineveld crowd.
Scorers:
For Duineveld:
Pen: Mathews
For Upington:
Try: Wiese
Pen: Nieuwoud
Teams:
HS Duineveld: 15 NJ Steyn, 14 Juan Barnard, 13 Jacques Page, 12 Adri Du Plessis, 11 Marno Els, 10 Ruan Mathews, 9 Etienne Le Roux, 8 Fourie van Zyl, 7 Erik Jordaan, 6 Ruan Visser, 5 Rudolf Oberholzer, 4 Adriaan Burger, 3 Stefan Hanekom, 2 Dolf Zandberg, 1 David Du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Juan Pretorius, 17 Stevan Botma, 18 Nelus Cronje, 19 Lovien Esterhuizen, 20 Thys Reynecke, 21 Earl Esau, 22 Hennie Goosen, 23 MC Grobbelaar.
HS Upington: 15 Benna Nieuwoudt, 14 Dirk Hanekom, 13 Dirkie Steenkamp, 12 Willrich Delie, 11 Marcel vd Westhuizen, 10 Gert Rupping, 9 Jaco Zietsman, 8 Reinardt Hayes, 7 Dian Dry, 6 Gustav Loots, 5 Cobus Wiese, 4 Koos de Wet, 3 Teuns van Zyl, 2 Lumart vd Merwe, 1 Wynand Terblanche.
Replacements: TBC
