History made at Boland Finals
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:23
A proud Groendal captain, Renaldo Paulse, holds his side's trophy aloft
On Wednesday, for the first time in its history, the Boland Schools Rugby Union presented glittering trophies to the winning schools in the different categories.
A fairly large and very enthusiastic crowd filled the main stand at Boland Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday, 25 August to watch Groendal, Hawston and HTS Drostdy claim the laurels in the three finals.
The first match, the Super League: Winelands decider between Berg River (Wellington) and Groendal of Franschhoek, was initially a rather untidy affair, with Berg River showing the more initiative.
They went into the break 10-0 up, courtesy of tries by right-wing Angus Bailey and fullback Denzil Hendricks, and stretched their lead to thirteen points with a penalty by outside centre Lehnrho Julies soon after the break.
This seemed suddenly to galvanise the hitherto hapless Groendal side and they replied with a try by hooker Roderick van Schalkwyk, converted by inside centre Anthony Adonis, who became an instant hero when he ran in a dramatic last minute try, his conversion of which clinched victory at 14-13.
The scorers:
For Groendal:
Tries: Roderick van Schalkwyk, Anthony Adonis
Cons: Adonis 2
For Berg River
Tries: Angus Bailey, Denzil Hendricks
Pen: Lehnrho Julies
The Super League: Overberg play-off pitted Bredasdorp against current form-team Hawston. This was an intriguing clash of styles: Bredasdorp boasted a large, doggedly methodical team, while Hawston ran the ball at every opportunity, an approach which was to pay handsome dividends.
The first half was very close as the sides tested each other. Hawston centre Roland Swarts slotted an early penalty, but Bredasdorp struck back with a try by flank Simon Lambrechts, which he duly goaled. Captain and hooker Brendon Hunter ensured that the coastal lads crossed over 8-7 ahead when he barged over shortly before the break.
Hawston stepped on the gas in the second period, No.8 Kurt Klaasen scoring two tries and fullback Gerswin October adding a fourth, with Swarts adding two conversions and a second penalty. Bredasdorp could manage only one more try when prop Luigi Maart bustled over towards the end, but the game was already far out of his side's reach. Result: Hawston 30 Bredasdorp 12.
The scorers:
For Hawston:
Tries: Kurt Klaasen 2, Brendon Hunter, Gerswin October
Cons: Roland Swarts 2
Pens: Swarts 2
For Bredasdorp:
Tries: Simon Lambrechts, Luigi Maart
Con: Lambrechts
The Premier League showdown, between Malmesbury's Schoonspruit and HTS Drostdy of Worcester, lived up to advance expectations, producing a pulsating, end-to-end game packed with action.
The early exchanges saw 'Spruit fullback Dugald Williams open the score with a penalty in the tenth minute, only for the Donkeys' scrumhalf Henry Hall to dart over six minutes later. Schoonspruit regained the ascendancy when scrumhalf Marno Hart dotted down following a maul close to the line. Williams' conversion made it 10-5.
Drostdy then exploited the sin-binning of one of the Schoonspruit tight five, fullback Michael de Boer cutting the line to score and right-wing Jonty Laubscher doing likewise after taking advantage of an overlap. Flyhalf Gerbrand Roets converted both tries to put his side 19-10 up, but a Williams penalty brought the Malmesbury lads within striking distance at 19-13 at half-time.
The second half had barely started when Williams scored the try of the match, latching onto a pinpoint grubber by inside centre Anzo Stubbs. A further thirteen minutes passed before flyhalf Ashlon Davids swallow-dived over under the crossbar. Williams goaled the simple kick and Schoonspruit led 25-19.
The Donkeys replied immediately when outside centre Iewan Bartels crossed in the corner and the score remained 25-24 until six minutes from the end when Drostdy's experience against WP Premier A league opposition finally told.
Roets reclaimed the lead with a penalty, de Boer registered his second five-pointer, wrenching the ball out of the hands of a despairing defender, and substitute back Elbert de Wet capitalized on a defensive error, driving the final nail into the Malmesbury lads' coffin and making the final tally HTS Drostdy 37 Schoonspruit 25.
The scorers:
For HTS Drostdy:
Tries: Michael de Boer 2, Henry Hall, Jonty Laubscher, Iewan Bartels, Elbert de Wet
Cons: Gerbrand Roets 2
Pen: Roets
For Schoonspruit:
Tries:
Marno Hart, Dugald Williams, Ashlon Davids
Cons: Williams 2
Pens: Williams 2
* The McCarthy Toyota Nite Rugby event at Goodwood RFC saw healthy wins for DF Malan (26-12 vs President), Durbanville (33-7 vs Milnerton) and Labori (32-7 vs Table View).
The evening yielded one extraordinary highlight: Milnerton captain Ruwald Lichtenstein gained an astonishing 80th cap for the side. During his three years in the team Ruwald has played every single position in the pack and featured in the side which collected the Die Burger Middle School Trophy in 2008 and the one that lost in the semifinal last week.
The Millies can ill-afford this likeable stalwart's departure at the end of the year.
By Tony Stoops
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