Jeppe edged by rampant Hilton in nail-biter

Blockbuster rugby action was the order of proceedings at the annual On Target Under-16 Rugby Festival hosted by Jeppe High School for Boys over the Easter weekend.

The school’s u-16 A side took on Hilton College in a highly-revved fixture, which had all the markings of a classic schoolboy rugby encounter on April 20.

Spectator turnout was met with early signs of promise as the KZN-based school drew first blood by dotting down in just the third minute.

The game shifted into fifth gear 10 minutes later with Hilton crashing over the whitewash for try number two.

The conversion kick that followed sailed over the goal posts to gift them a 12-0 lead.

Jeppe Boys would, however, not resign to spectator status and heeded the call from the home support.

The response, a short reprisal during a sustained period of attacking pressure which won them a penalty kick deep inside Hilton territory.

The kick was successfully converted to cut the deficit down to nine points, but the half climaxed when Hilton got a line-out throw from inside the Jeppe 22m line, allowing them to get into position for a dangerous rolling maul.

The attempted maul crumbled under stiff opposition from Jeppe but led to second line-out throw, which was just the trump card needed for Hilton to finally cross over for their third try.

Hilton College easily put away the resulting conversion kick and concluded the half in the pound seats.

With the score 17-3 at the start of the second half, Jeppe did their best to nullify Hilton’s grip on the match.

The home side’s attempts at a resurgence was met by a resilient opposition defence that made penetration impossible.

The visiting outfit paid credence to their unwavering defence by rolling back for a regulatory response which came courtesy of a try, a conversion and a penalty kick.

In the dying moments of the game, Jeppe managed to combat a seemingly bullish defence to secure their first try, bagging a seven-pointer to send the home crowd into joyous celebration.

Jeppe took their attacking game deep into the Hilton 22, however, it proved too little too late for them to append the scoreboard.

A bruising game closed out to a 27-10 defeat for the Joburg school, a result which Jeppe Boys assistant coach Peter Ngoveni blamed on a slow start.

“We started off a bit slow and Hilton caught us off-guard. We were eventually able to catch up with the pace of the game and I guess, that is reflected on the scoreboard.

“It could have been worse,” said Ngoveni.

“The tournament has been amazing with some big teams coming in. At this rate, I’m sure it will be one of the biggest schoolboy rugby festivals in the country.”

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