The Benoni Northerns Storm’s second team crossed the whitewash six times to outclass Elsburg Eagles 32-0 in their one-sided Valke Merlin League match at the Northerns main field on July 13.
Jandre Raven, Joshua Bouwer and Christiaan Willemse added three first-half tries to hand their team a 15-0 lead before Brendan Kruger, John Anthony Sullivan and Zane Labuschagne touched down in the second half.
The score could have been worse if the kicking was accurate enough but the wind was a huge factor, especially in the first half, as Sheldon Botha only converted Sullivan’s fiver-pointer.
After a tense start, Northerns got into their rhythm and exerted pressure on the Elsburg defence.
Threo Pieterse showed his class early on when he started the play that led to the game’s first try. The outside centre received the ball in the middle and sped across. Elsburg defended well but didn’t do enough to keep their hosts out as Raven opened the scoring.
Bouwer kept the scoreboard ticking when he crossed over for the match’s second five-pointer after outpacing his marker to score on the left.
Willemse ensured his team went into the break with a healthy lead when he added another try. Northerns won a line-out and the ball was fed to Pieterse, who charged forward before passing Willemse to score on the far side.
It was a faultless open-play first half for the home side despite the wind denying them more points from the set-piece. The visitors fought hard but every time they got into their rhythm, Northerns kicked into another gear, leaving them frustrated.
Nothing much changed after the break and the Northerns bench inflicted more pain on their opponents as three substitutes crossed the whitewash.
First Kruger ran in unchallenged before Labuschagne added to the assault, with Sullivan crossing over in between the duo as their team won 32-0 to remain unbeaten in the competition.
They are on top of the log and are on course to make the knockouts.
Scorers for Northerns
Tries: Jandre Raven, Joshua Bouwer, Christiaan Willemse, Brendan Kruger, John Anthony Sullivan and Zane Labuschagne. Conversion: Sheldon Botha
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