Benoni Northerns red U11 youngsters Kyle Brooks and Keanan McLaughlin grabbed a brace each but NWU Eagles turquoise U11 flanker Zuan Potgieter scored the try of the match in their 22-12 loss to the hosts in the Valke Youth League on August 10.
In front of a buzzing home crowd on the main field, Northerns produced an emphatic performance, scoring four tries compared to their opponents’ two, to win the match convincingly.
Brooks and McLaughlin crossed over in each half and Riaan Hattingh added two points with the boot while Potgieter and Joshua Lourens touched down for NWU while Lesedi Malindi scored a single conversion.
But the moment of the match belonged to Potgieter, whose magic in the first half left the crowd stunned on a day when youngsters showed up and displayed the depth of talent in the Valke region.
With his team trailing 5-0 deep in the first half and with ball in hand after winning a duel, he held off several markers and left everybody in his slipstreams – including his own teammates – as he ran back inside his own half before sprinting across to level the scores.
Northerns started the match brilliantly when eighth man Brooks dotted over for the game’s first five-pointer early on after a sustained period of pressure in the NWU half but Potgieter incredibly brought his team back into contention with his solo effort as they took a 7-5 lead after Malindi’s conversion.
Both teams pushed and went in hard in the breakdown but Northerns’ big boys were the difference as McLaughlin added his team’s second try to go into the break 10-7 ahead.
Looking to build momentum from their first-half showing, Northerns started the brightest. After camping inside NWU’s half for the first few minutes, Brooks ran in on the left to increase their tally, before Lourens added NWU’s second five-pointer.
McLaughlin scored his second late on and Hattingh added Northerns’ first conversion to hand Northerns their third win of the season.
Brooks credited his performance to his teammates’ hard work and his stepfather’s pre-game words of motivation.
“We have a good team. We worked hard out there. My stepfather told me to play smart and whenever I’m close to the goal line, I must pick and go because they won’t stop me.
The Northerns fields were a hive of activity in the fourth leg of the league as over 30 different age-group matches were played on the day.
Northerns deputy chairperson, Jaco Havenga thanked all the teams and people who made the day a success.
“We had the best day like we always do in Benoni. The referees association sent good refs and it helped a lot with fewer injuries and no major injuries at all. Overall, it was a great day and rugby won,” he said.
Other results:
U9
• Benoni red 22-10 Springs blue
• Benoni black 5-12 Suikerbos
• Benoni white 31-0 Elsburg
U10
• Benoni red 7-26 NWU purple
• Benoni black 10-14 NWU turquoise
U11
• Benoni black 0-28 Brakpan
U12
• Benoni blue 40-0 Springs blue
U13
• Benoni red 33-10 Brakpan green
• Benoni black 38-10 Kempton
U16
• Benoni 0-36 Springs
U18
• Benoni 0-42 Springs
Also Read: Benoni Northerns Storm juniors impress in Valke Youth League
Also Read: Northerns destroy ERU in Valke Merlin League
