Speedy Armentum smash Majuba

Huis Armentum sent out a clear message to the other hostel teams in the Steinhoff Koshuisrugby Championships, as they thumped Steinhoff Majuba 61-19 at Shimla Park on Monday.

An action-packed match – which served as a curtain-raiser to the Varsity Cup match between Shimlas and Tukkies – produced some high quality rugby at times and 11 tries in total.

But Armentum looked in control from the very start and never allowed their visitors from Stellenbosch into the match.

Armentum lock Michael de Wet scored the first try of the encounter in the fifth minute after fullback Tiaan Aucamp countered from the back. Shortly afterwards Aucamp had another hand in his side’s second try.

Johnny Schoeman (No.8) broke through the Majuba defense straight from the restart; Schoeman sprinted 50 metres and from a quick ruck ball, Aucamp drew the last Majuba defender before finding centre Morkel Hoffmann.

Schoeman had a few similar runs and was one of his side’s best players.

Armentum clearly had the upperhand up front and absolutely demolished their opponents in the scrums. Tighthead Ian Potgieter was very dominant for Armentum.

Their dominance up front was evident when a kick-off did not carry ten metres – Majuba opted for another kick-off, instead of getting another hammering in the scrums.

Armentum were very fortunate to get their third try as lock Joubert Horn looked to have knocked on as he attempted to pick up a loose ball. But the try was awarded, and Armentum went up 19-0.

The bonus point try came for the home team through a long-distance effort from Gareth Lourens in just the 20th minute – a 27-0 lead seemed a long way back for the hapless Men from Stellenbosch.

Both Majuba’s tries were soft ones, as first No.8 Dantes Wium scored after handing off an Armentum defender and then shortly afterwards Nathaniel Pekeur got Majuba’s second on a plate.

The second half was as entertaining as the first half, as play went from the one side to the other.

But when Lourens scored his second, and the home team’s fifth, try 30 minutes from full-time, the game was effectively over as a contest, with Armentum stretching their lead to 37-12.

For Majuba, their outside centre Werner Vermeulen looked dangerous at times and kept the Armentum defenders busy. Teammate Stefan de Villiers (No.11) also made a valuable contribution on attack throughout.

The scorers:

For Armentum:
Tries: De Wet, Hoffmann, Horn, Lourens 2, Myburgh, van Zyl, Burden
Cons: Kritzener 3, Myburgh 3
Pens: Kritzener 2, Myburgh

For Majuba:
Tries: Wium, Pekeur, Coetzee
Cons: De Villiers 2

The teams:

Armentum: 15 Tiaan Aucamp, 14 Kobus Neethling, 13 Morkel Hoffmann, 12 Jacques Steenkamp, 11 Gareth Lourens, 10 Inus Kritzener, 9 Enrico Schultz, 8 Johnny Schoeman, 7 Dedrik Pretorius (c), 6 Niekie Potgieter, 5 Joubert Horn, 4 Michael de Wet, 3 Ian Potgieter, 2 Toffie van Tonder, 1 Cobus Greeff.
Replacement: 16 Jonker Venter, 17 Chris Maans, 18 Thys-Koch Burden, 19 Mynhardt van der Walt, 20 Pieter van Zyl, 21 Jannie Myburgh, 22 Leon Pretorius.

Majuba: 15 Hennie de Villiers, 14 Ben Olivier, 13 Werner Vermeulen, 12 Nathaniel Pekeur, 11 Stefan de Villiers, 10 Monty Rohwer, 9 JC van der Walt, 8 Dantes Wium, 7 Schoeman Laubscher, 6 Rohann Stumke, 5 Visser Maas, 4 Nel Coetzee, 3 Waldo Booysen, 2 Jakkie Stander, 1 Paul-Maarten von Zeuner.
Replacements: 16 Jurie Groenewald, 17 Eddie Harper, 18 Henk Truter, 19 SJ Engelbrecht, 20 Kleinjan du Plessis, 21 Danie Grabe, 22 Stephan Smit.

By Ruan Bruwer