Germiston beats Alberton again

A SQUARE Forklift Alberton Rugby Club was unable to win the latest match against Germiston Simmer.

It again looked like a game that Alberton should have pulled through, but on July 15, Germiston found chinks in the armour of Alberton club to claim a second successive victory against the hosts.

With the memories of a narrow loss at Simmer last time, the hosts were determined to turn it around this time round.

The hosts started well enough, showing good defence, although mainly pinned in their half of the field in the first few minutes.

When Alberton got a bit of ball, they managed to use it effectively and put the visitors under good early pressure and were rewarded for their efforts when Henry Payne slotted the first of his three penalties for the day to lead 3-0.

Simmer bounced back soon after, scoring a try after their fullback chipped through a rolling ball which the home side made a meal of at the back. The Simmer player dived on the loose ball for the first try of the match. The conversion was wide but it was a sign of intent that Simmer had to attack from deep.

Alberton bounced back and regained the lead when Payne was successful with his second attempt at goals.

Simmer was playing their part and their player of the match, in my opinion, was the fullback. He was super effective when running from deep and it was only Alberton’s staunch cover defence that kept these attacks at bay. I always got the feeling that Alberton was going to miss a tackle and the Simmer side would be in.

Alberton counter-attacked quite well throughout and when Theuns Van der Merwe dotted behind the sticks just before halftime, Alberton had a deserved lead of 13-5.

The second half was a different affair as the visitors pressed hard with long runs from the back and eventually the inevitable happened when the Alberton cover defence started missing a few tackles.

This enabled the Simmer team to score a few late tries and it was basically all over, bar the shouting. Alberton have shown this year that they have guts and spirit and they never give up. A missed penalty and then a successful one by Payne lifted the mood and the home side got a new lease on life.

They pressed forward and were rewarded when, my player of the year Arno Steyn, crashed over with the last move of the game. It was too little too late, but it did show that they have what it takes. The only disappointing aspect was the few spectators with Simmer claiming the game 25-23.

Come and support the local team at their next match on July 29 at home.

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