Owls miss an opportunity with defeat to Brakpan
The Panne collected all five maximum points on offer for their win.
The Boksburg Rugby Club, fondly known as The Owls, failed to gain what would’ve been an imperative advantage on the Valke Peregrine League’s early standings when they went down 33-26 to rivals Brakpan at the Bosman Stadium on April 6.
Had the Prince George Park outfit found themselves on the right side of the final 33-26 scoreline, the win would’ve carried an added significance following favourites Vereeniging’s shocking loss to North-West University, a result that’s set to go down as the biggest upset this campaign.
You can rest assured, Vereeniging will come back with a vengeance and are still likely to finish at the top of the standings when all is said and done.
Not all was lost for The Owls, however, as the loss meant that all the teams in the league were left all level with one win apiece after two rounds of play; they also went away with two bonus points thanks to their try-scoring form and avoiding a defeat not bigger than seven.
The trio of Attie van der Nest, Damian Diedericks and fly-half Henry Pike (two tries) made sure of the one bonus point. The latter converted three of the tries.
Meanwhile, from a Brakpan perspective, it was a good response following their opening loss against Vereeniging.
The hosts, matched The Owls on the try-scoring tally with four tries of their own from the afternoon’s hero Tobie Strydom, who also completed a brace in a match that saw him make a comeback for the ‘Panne’ after two years. His teammates, Shaun Fourie and captain Reg Muller were the other try scorers.
Former Owls player PJ Beaukes slotted two conversions and three penalties.
Owls mentor, Francois Erasmus said: “In the end, their bench was too strong for us. They managed to slow down the tempo of the game which didn’t suit us; there was also a lot of missed opportunities from our side. The only positive is that we managed to get two bonus points.”
Erasmus’ opposite, Braam Booysen, echoed some of his counterpart’s sentiments.
“It’s always a tough game when we play Boksburg, and this one was no different. These are two very competitive sides.
“Our substitutes made a big difference in the second half; we knew we had more depth than them and we knew beforehand that the changes would make the difference for us. It was a calculated move from my side, we brought in a fresh front row in the last 20 minutes or so, and we also brought back some of our experienced players.”
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