Allies u-16 prove why they are champions
Fighting to get to lead, this team’s strength lies in their ability to overcome adversity mentally.
ON April 14 the u-16 team of Hoërskool Alberton triumphed over Florida 20-19 to claim their third straight NWU Super Title, having won the trophy at u-14 and u-15 level.
It was a cracker of a game that had everyone involved on the edge of their seats up until the final whistle.
Allies were very good out of the blocks and the whole game, in fact.
From the get-go Alberton put pressure on Florida, keeping the lion’s share of possession and territory. Sadly, they could not convert this pressure into points despite creating a host of super opportunities.
At one stage they even had a three-man overlap, and the player running a few metres in from touch had two players on his outside but tried to break through the final defender. I don’t think it was out of selfishness; this team has too much experience for that, but I think they were in the mindset of holding on to the ball. Although if you can pass to a player in a better position, you must.
Not taking the knock
Just as everyone was starting to wonder if the opportunities Alberton had squandered would come back to haunt them, the unthinkable, but predictable, happened. Florida, who for their part when they did get the ball were counter-attacking very well, broke clean through with their outside centre, showing proper pace and running skill, and scored under the sticks. Alberton found themselves behind on the scoreboard and had to dig deep. Time was not a factor, but psychologically they would have taken a knock.
But this team’s strength lies in their ability to overcome adversity.
They bounced back in style and started stringing a few more phases together. A few minutes later, when the opportunity presented itself again, they offloaded two passes in the tackle to see their number eight, Brandon Lues, crash over under the sticks for a seven-pointer.
Until the bitter end
This seemed to be the best medicine for Allies, and from the restart they continued from where they had left off. They were rewarded when, just before half-time, fly half Damian Holl scored near the upright too, again after a period of sustained pressure. A score of 14-7 at half-time was an accurate reflection of the game.
After the break Allies continued to put pressure on Florida. They went further up after Holl slotted a penalty that was by no means directly in front. The score was 17-7.
Florida came back, however, and Allies had to defend for their lives in the last seven minutes, but they claimed victory with 20-19.
Worthy of mention is Allies captain Shaun Du Toit, who played a captain’s game and led from the front.
Well done, Allies! Now for the league.
Also Read:
Allies are the champions again
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