Match Report: Paarl Gimnasium vs Grey College
Grey College dig deep in Paarl, beating rivals Paarl Gim away from home 29 – 27 in a titanic Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools derby on Saturday the 20th of April.
Paarl Gimnasium and Grey College laid the groundwork for what promises to be an enduring rivalry, destined to become one of the sport’s classics. The atmosphere at the JA Kriel Field on Saturday afternoon was reminiscent of a high-stakes test match, with intensity palpable from the first whistle to the last. In a dramatic turn of events, Grey College brought an end to Paarl Gim’s unbeaten streak, adding another chapter to their burgeoning rivalry.
It was the hosts that started out the stronger of the two sides and dominated the opening stanza of the match. Gimmies drew first blood through their fullback Freek De Kock five minutes in, to take an early lead, 3 – 0. Their sustained pressure resulted in three more opportunities throughout the half to add three points but all of them where uncharacteristically missed by De Kock, which would come back to haunt the hosts late on.
Grey College’s confidence grew as the game progressed and their first opportunity to get points on the board was taken by fullback Hein Stockenstrom in the 14th minute. A real ding dong battle ensued between the teams and the rest of the half was a dogged fight between two proud teams, with both sets of defenders remaining resolute in defence of their try line.
Somewhat against the run of play, the home side scored the first try of the match when their hard working number eight Quintin Potgieter powered over from a well set driving maul. It was only a few minutes later that Grey flyhalf Alzeadon Felix evened matters through a moment of brilliance as he sold an outrageous dummy that left him with the easy task of strolling in under the poles for Grey’s first five-pointer
Gimmies Captain Kobus Blanckenberg spearheaded much of the home sides efforts through the midfield, and he was rewarded as the halftime siren sounded to give his team a 17-10 lead at the break. The try assist came from his midfield partner Markus Muller, after flyhalf Chandler Green put a clever chip kick through into space for Muller to regather and offload to a charging Blanckenberg to score. Many thought this would be the hammer blow that settled Grey’s efforts.
However, as is well known in the schoolboy rugby fraternity never count out the men from Bloemfontein. Two tries in the space of a few minutes by “The Tank”, Adams, early in the second half saw Grey lead for the first time in the 47th minute of the match. Flyhalf Felix was back to pulling strings again 10 minutes later, when he setup his inside centre Pieter Van Der Merwe for a try with a perfectly weighted chip kick over the Gim defensive line. With 10 minutes left on the clock and Grey College having extended their lead to 29 points to 17 all seemed but done for the hosts.
Many have spoken of and only a few have witnessed the famous saying of “Gimmie guts”. Paarl Gim so often always seem to find that little bit extra when their backs are against the wall and today was no different.
Big tighthead prop Ely Williams kickstarted their fight back with back-to-back scrum penalties that gave Gim an upper hand over the Grey College forward pack. A second try soon followed from Potgieter as momentum swung back in the host’s favour. Gim weren’t done as an intelligent cross kick play by flyhalf Green, meant Markus Moolman could dot down in the corner to see them within two points of the visitors. However, the conversion attempt of Moolman’s try hit the post. Grey College 29 Paarl Gim 27 with just over two minutes on the clock.
The dream storyline fight back was not meant to be for the hosts as Grey College stood firm and held on to their lead to record a statement victory on the JA Kriel Field. Grey College once more put themselves back in the mix to be considered the top schoolboy rugby team in the country this season.
Heartbreak for Paarl Gim in front of their home crowd but they will be looking to bounce back against SACS next week and reassert themselves in early May at the 2024 ABSA Wildeklawer Tournament.
Sportsmans Warehouse Man of the Match: Grey College – AJ Meyer
Scorers:
For Paarl Gim
Tries: Quintin Potgieter (2), Kobus Blankenburg, Markus Moolman
Con: Freek De Kock 1/3 Chandler Green 1/3
Pens: Freek De kock 1/2 Chandler Green 0/2
For Grey College
Tries: Alzeadon Felix, Ethan Adams (2), Pieter Van Der Merwe
Cons: Hein Stockenstrom 3/4
Pens: Hein Stockenstrom 1/1
Referee: Jan De Bok
Media release issued by Terras Communications on behalf of Premier Interschools.
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Enjoy a highlights of the game in YouTube clip below:
