Border breeze past Boland
Border scored six tries on their way to a 39-19 victory over Boland on the third day of Craven Week action in Polokwane.
The Eastern Cape side had things all their way in the first half playing with the wind, and held off a fight back from Boland in the second half to secure victory.
Border got on the front foot early on, with their forward pack working them into a good attacking position, whilst Boland by contrast started throwing the ball around in their in-goal area.
Border made great use of their field position when the ball was sent wide from the first scrum of the game and flank Jedwyn Harty was on hand to power over for the opening try which was converted by skipper Lungelo Gosa.
Boland responded by taking the ball deep into the Border 22 where they launched a driving maul which eventually resulted in hooker Tiaan Lambrechts forcing his way over from close range.
The see-saw nature of the match continued as Border launched another attack, and left wing Nanelamandlane Tyali took his chance well to step through the defence for his team's second try which extended their lead to 14-5.
The Eastern Cape side were dominating both territory and possession and kept the pressure on, with some powerful driving play from the forwards mixed with some enterprising running in the backline, leaving Boland to defend for their lives.
A Gosa penalty put Border 17-5 ahead after just 20 minutes and they were back on the attack soon afterwards, with Harty storming over for his second try after a quick tap from Gosa.
That gave them a comfortable 22-5 lead at half-time, and Boland had it all to do in the second half when they would enjoy the wind at their backs.
Boland started the second half with plenty of intent and took the game to the opposition, refusing a kick at goal before replacement Ewan Adams picked up a loose ball and cut through the Border defence to reduce the gap to 22-12.
That stung Border into action, and they moved swiftly into the Boland 22 where a pass from Gosa found a flying Somila Jho who got over for the try.
To their credit, Boland did not give up the fight and were rewarded with a breathtaking try which brought them right back into the match.
Scrumhalf Kilian von Mollendorff made a break down the blindside from a scrum and got it away to fullback Raylinn Philander who kicked ahead for right wing Mishaun Arendse who dived on it to score a great try.
That left Border just eight points ahead with ten minutes to play, but they gave themselves a bit of breathing room when another great pass from Gosa released Jho for his second try.
They were not done there, and eventually Harty was able to get over for his hat-trick try on the stroke of half-time to secure the ultimately comfortable victory.
Man of the match: Border captain and flyhalf Lungelo Gosa controlled the game well, using his educated boot to keep his forwards on the front foot and showing some neat distribution skills.
The scorers:
For Border:
Tries: Harty 3, Tyali, Jho 2
Cons: Gosa 2, Brown
Pen: Gosa
For Boland:
Tries: Lambrechts, Adams, Arendse
Cons: Adams 2
Teams:
Border: 15 Ayavuya Mavuso, 14 Lilitha Jonas, 13 Somila Jho, 12 Kyle Brown, 11 Nanelamandlane Tyali, 10 Lungelo Gosa, 9 Keegan Gray, 8 Damian Wolvaard, 7 Jedwyn Harty, 6 Lona Ntsila, 5 Justin Hollis, 4 Jason Steyn, 3 Matthew Nelson, 2 Sinako George, 1 Thabani Mtsi.
Replacements: 16 Jayson Reinecke, 17 Sibusiso Lali, 18 Robert Lyons, 19 Mihlali Nchukana, 20 Kewan Gibb, 21 Simon Bolze, 22 Jerry Danquah.
Boland: 15 Raylinn Philander, 14 Mishaun Arendse, 13 Leolin Zas, 12 Chemandre van Schalkwyk, 11 Warren Williams, 10 Fabio Afrika, 9 Kilian von Mollendorff, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Jurie Fick, 6 Brand Taljaard, 5 Johannes du Toit, 4 Hermanus le Roux, 3 Farrel Kelly, 2 Tiaan Lambrechts, 1 Willem Lombaard.
Replacements: 16 Martin van Wyk, 17 Tobias Wiese, 18 Carl Heydenrych, 19 Cheslin Korasie, 20 Georon Claasen, 21 Ewan Adams, 22 Rohaan Adams.
