Weston bag three-in-a-row
Weston not only won the 2017 edition of the Classic Clash, but they also retained the Dowker Trophy.
The sunny conditions were the polar opposite to last year's below freezing temperatures and set the day off for a titanic struggle.
The first half saw the two teams feeling out each other’s weaknesses, with Treverton enjoying most of the territory.
Some good defence from Weston kept the boys in white out from scoring points. Eventually, Weston's defence folded and Justin Caldecott slotted the first points of the days.
From the restart, Weston came back firing and secured a penalty which Owen Brown duly levelled the score at 3-all.
Before the break, Treverton received a yellow card as wing Travis van der Westhuyzen was sent to the bin for a high tackle.
The score remained 3-all at half-time.
As the second half proceeded, Weston made used the man advantage to score a try courtesy of flyhalf Brown. Unfortunately for Weston, Brown failed with his conversion, 8-3.
Conceding spurred Treverton back into action and retention of possession eventually broke down Weston's defence and scored a try through captain Siboniso Ndlovu who peeled off the dominant scrum.
Caldecott kicked the conversion and the hosts took a narrow 10-8 with 15 minutes to play.
The second yellow card of the match was awarded to Weston centre Taine Louwrens for a high tackle, the numerical advantage seemed to tip the momentum in the hosts' favour, however, a penalty in Treverton's half saw an easy kick for Brown. And the visitors took the 11-10 lead with three minutes left on the clock.
Shortly after this, Treverton received another yellow. This time wing Devin Hudson was binned for cynical play, evening the teams to 14 men all for the remainder of the game.
As the match drew to a close, Treverton had a chance to snatch victory with the final kick of the day. However, the attempt went agonisingly wide and the final whistle blew.
Westons man of the match was Owen Brown, whistle Treverton's men of the match were Jamie Belcher and Justin Caldecott.
"While it is a hard pill to swallow losing in such fashion, I am very proud of the way these young men played. We had a plan for the game and the boys did everything I asked of them. It is a steep learning curve but this team will only get stronger from here," Treverton's head coach said after the match.
The scorers:
For Treverton:
Try: Siboniso Ndlovu
Con: Justin Caldecott
Pen: Justin Caldecott
For Weston:
Try: Owen Brown
Pens: Owen Brown 2
Yellow Cards: Travis van der Westhuyzen (Treverton), Taine Louwrens (Weston), Devin Hudson (Treverton).
Treverton: 15 Luyanda Mawesana, 14 Travis van der Westhuyzen, 13 Michael Maher, 12 Zenzele Radebe, 11 Devin Hudson, 10 Justin Caldecott, 9 Edgar Mosha, 8 Siboniso Ndlovu, 7 Scott Rowland, 6 Kevin Tsiane, 5 Jamie Belcher, 4 Tyrone Loring, 3 Vusi Fakazi, 2 Ettienne Swanepoel, 1 Jacques Wessels.
Replacements: Ndoda Kheswa, Sabatha Makola, Tyler Malan, Sbusiso Mdawe, Lusanda Ngejane, Juhan Muller, Harley Dell.
Weston: TBC
Source: Bob de Wet
Photo Credits: Sean Kelland