Coming off three wins from their first three league matches, the Blue Machine looked to extend their streak against Hoërskool Carletonville on May 21.
The curtain-raisers for the First XV match had created an expectant crowd after Allen Glen High’s U/14s, 15s and 16s registered 20–5, 27–14 and 22–0 victories, respectively. The opening minutes may have suggested more of the same as a loose pass by the Carletonville scrum half went behind his number 10, resulting in a kick-chase that took the hosts deep into the visitors’ territory. After crossing the line, the referee judged the ball to have been held up but in the resulting phases an overlap was created, with Allen Glen dotting down in the corner.
The early promise was short-lived as Carletonville hit back with two quick tries, one through dominant ball-carrying, and another through the Carletonville fly half who made a clever jink through the defence and a pin-point cross-kick that was re-gathered by his winger who made the score 10–5. Allen Glen moved the ball well throughout the match but handling errors in crucial areas ruining momentum would be the theme of the day.
Another cross kick again exploited space behind the Allen Glen back line to make it 15–5 before Allen Glen were punished for trying to run the ball in their own 22, the first conversion following to make it 22–5. The hosts, sensing the need to score next before the deficit became too great, pushed to end the half on a high, but solid defence kept them at bay, with Carletonville going into the break 17 points ahead.
Receiving a stern verbal reminder of their duties by their coaches at halftime, the Blue Machine returned in the second half with purpose. A mix of hard and creative running put two tries on the board early but two missed conversions left the scores at 22–15. Now the hosts were throwing the ball around with abandon but this led to a scrappy few phases that were pounced on the visiting fly half who broke the line to make it 27–15.
Needing to claw that momentum back, Allen Glen won the ball from the kickoff, maintained possession for several phases before repeated penalty infringements resulted in a yellow card for Carletonville. Allen Glen made the advantage count, adding the conversion to make it a one-try game. Sensing it was within their grasp Allen Glen moved themselves to within five metres of a score-leveling try but a clumsy pass was knocked on with only fresh air between the man and the whitewash.
From the resulting scrum, a deceptive short-side set play bamboozled the Allen Glen defence and the visitors sprinted the length of the field to make it 34–22. Like a punch-drunk boxer swinging wildly, Allen Glen hit back in the corner to keep the game alive at 34–27, but with cries of 30 seconds left coming from the benches, Allen Glen needed to win the resulting kick-off.
Carletonville were bravest, however, leaping highest to secure the ball before wearing down what was left of the defence for one last try, wrapping up the 39–27 victory.
