GREY SNATCH WIN OVER WESTVILLE WITH PENALTY TRY AFTER THE HOOTER
In a drama-laden finish, Grey High kept their unbeaten record this year at the Standard Bank Grey Rugby Festival in Gqeberha on Saturday when they were awarded a penalty try after the hooter to defeat Westville 17-15.
The breathless conclusion was a bitter pill to swallow for the Durban outfit, who were highly impressive in all departments, but Grey were rewarded for the potency of their lineout maul as they poured on the pressure in the dying moments of the game.
Down 15-10, the home team showed dogged determination and faith in their forwards as they kicked for touch through a series of penalties.
With their lineout performing efficiently and the hooter having gone, they drove for the line in one final desperate attempt to level the scores. But when they maul was collapsed by Westville, the referee adjudged a try would have been scored and ruled a penalty try to hand Grey the win.
Earlier wing Kaiden Titus crossed for two tries, while Westville scored tries through highly impressive centre Siya Ndlozi and prop Joshua Ferreira.
On both occasions the Durban side showed supreme running ability, with Ndlozi’s pace outstripping the Grey cover defence, while the second try came after a remarkable breakout from deep inside their own half.
In a cracking encounter earlier in the day Jeppe escaped with a 34-34 draw against Selborne after trailing by 10 points with just five minutes remaining.
This was not the Jeppe side of the opening day when they dismantled Queen’s, lacking the laser-like precision they played with in that encounter.
But kudos to Selborne for their fighting display. They harried the dangerous Jeppe backs at every opportunity and were quick to seize their chances, running in five tries as they built what seemed to be a matchwinning lead.
However, Jeppe kept pushing back and a try by scrumhalf Samuel Brice set up a thrilling finish at 34-29.
Eventually, with time almost up, Jeppe launched an attack from their own 22m area and wing Sanele Tshabangu was put into space down the right and flew about 60 metres to score in the corner, making it level.
Jeppe had a second opportunity at the matchwinning conversion after Selborne charged early, but that also went wide and the sides had to settle for the draw.
Selborne’s tries came from Amani Somana, James Bowles, Dewan du Preez, Siya Sakhela and Thomas Braun, with Daniel Larkan adding three conversions and a penalty.
In the main curtain-raiser, Queen’s gave themselves a lift with a tense 21-19 win over KES after leading 14-12 at halftime.
Crossing for three converted tries, the Queenians led 21-12 with five minutes left when KES crossed for their third try to give themselves a chance of pulling the match out of the fire.
They went straight back onto the attack, but Queen’s defended with spirit and celebrated with undisguised enthusiasm when the final whistle went soon afterwards.
The tries for Queen’s were scored by Siya Konki, Lwanele Gaba and Sisipho Mpaka, with Mveli Mqulo adding three crucial conversions in difficult kicking conditions.
Graeme College ran in six tries to record an excellent 34-12 win over Voortrekker Bethlehem, while Pretoria Boys’ High, who were pushed hard by the Invitation XI on the opening day (15-5), showed good control to defeat SACS 24-13.
Parktown also completed satisfactory trip to Gqeberha with a notable 19-13 win over Brandwag, while an all-Eastern Cape affair between Nico Malan and Dale resulted in a 22-5 win for the Humansdorp side.
Ironically, all the points in this match were scored against the wind, with Nico Malan driving hard when near the line to set up the final result by scoring three tries for a 19-0 lead at the break.
In the opening match on the Kolisi Field, St John’s outscored Hudson Park three tries to two for a hard-earned 22-12 win, and Muir proved too good for St Stithians on the Pollock Oval, winning 31-15.
The final game on the Pollock Oval saw Westering run in two converted tries to beat the Invitation XV 14-0.
The results:
St John’s bt Hudson Park 22-12
Selborne and Jeppe drew 34-34
Graeme College bt Voortrekker Bethlehem 34-12
Pretoria Boys’ High bt SACS 24-13
Grey High bt Westville 17-15
Muir bt St Stithians 31-15
Parktown bt Brandwag 19-13
Nico Malan bt Dale 22-5
Westering bt Invitation XV 14-0
Match report compiled by Neale Emslie
