HOËRSKOOL Alberton was defeated by Hoërskool Hoogenout 12-26 in their NWU Vaal Super Series game played on Friday, March 18, on the grounds of Hoërskool Alberton.
The hosts led 12-0 at half time but in the second half, the visitors turned up the heat and at the same time, Alberton seemed to tire causing them to make mistakes and miss tackles which led to the visitors overturning the deficit.
Alberton started positively and was the better team in all phases except the scrums. Unlike the previous week, the scrums went a bit better in that they got the ball out of the huddle a lot quicker.
Their backline functioned well and fullback Caltino Jones deserves special mention as he defended extremely well.
Another aspect that deserves mention is the tight five especially going forward. They really played well as a unit and all of them had a few good runs with the ball and were able to put a lot of pressure on the Hoogenhout defense. The whole front row needs mention here: props John-Lloyd Dadswell and Nathan De Villiers as well as hooker Jimmy Dadswell. This was despite the loss of their number eight player, Marcelle Botha, in the fifth minute due to a knee injury.
The hosts were rewarded in the first half with a try by their inspirational captain Lunga Molele.
The conversion was missed and they were 5-0 up.
They continued to press forward and this led to desperation in the Hoogenhout defense, which led to a penalty try being awarded after a shocking head high tackle on Alberton centre Ruan Muller.
The referee also gave a yellow card for this. The conversion went over and they were 12- 0 up at the break.
Sadly after the break, the visitors seized the initiative and ran at the home team at every opportunity. They dominated the territory and possession and the shell-shocked home side started missing tackles and also had a yellow card shown for repeated infringing.
It must be said that it was, especially in the first half, a better performance by Alberton but they found the going to be tough when they were on the back foot.
