Following recent heavy rains across most parts of the country, damp overcast conditions met players from Hoërskool Noord-Kaap and Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen when they ran out for their ultimate clash of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF) in Durban on April 22.
Both teams were looking for their respective second victories after they had each lost their first game and won their second at the annual Easter weekend competition.
EG Jansen were more effective when they kept the game tight, a neutralising tactic of Noord-Kaap’s lethal backline.
The first try arrived 12 minutes into the game when EG Jansen set up a maul, rumbling some 15m forward before hooker Kyle Pepler went over; Kyle Potgieter converted.
The lead was not long lived, however, with Noord-Kaap hitting back via a backline combination. Centre Keano Windvogel broke the EG Jansen defensive line before a perfectly weighted offload to his captain and full back Elzandro Fredericks, who scored out wide, narrowing the gap to 7-5.
EG Jansen’s second score again arrived courtesy of the Pepler and Potgieter combination. Spotting a weakness in the Noord-Kaap camp of struggling to defend the rolling maul, the Boksburg boys went for the set-piece move again with the hooker dotting down his second, with Potgieter again converting to extend the lead to 14-5.
The end-to-end theme of the game continued as Noord-Kaap again hit back via their strong point: their backline. Wing Jacquin van Wyk sliced through the EG Jansen defence to score, following some neat interchange play. Corné du Plessis converted to narrow the deficit to 14-12.
Noord-Kaap took the lead for the first time in the match when van Wyk’s opposite, Moemagare Molete, scored in the corner, the subsequent conversion was missed and the two teams went into the break with Noord-Kaap taking a 17-14 half-time lead.
The second half was only minutes old when Molete scored his second converted try to put his side in a healthy position.
EG Jansen’s replacement fly half, Keagan Balfour, ensured that the rock and roll rugby continued when he broke the line to score; Potgieter converted, 24-21.
EG Jansen thought they had won the humdinger in the dying minutes, but a handling error in Noord-Kaap’s red zone gifted Noord-Kaap the victory.
EG Jansen’s results throughout the competition:
Day one: Glenwood High School 27-26 Dr EG Jansen
Day two: Durban High School 39-12 Dr EG Jansen
Day three: Noord-Kaap 24-21 Dr EG Jansen
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