schoolsthatrockIn an absolute thrilling encounter, Glenwood took on EG Jansen in their first match at the prestigious Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF) yesterday. Everybody knew it will be a tough battle against the men from Boksburg, who boasts a dominating pack and pace from their backline players.
The game started at a ferocious pace with both teams passing the ball around and trying to break the advantage line.
EG Jansen took an early lead when Keagan Balfour ran a beautiful line to snuck through the defence, found Duane Bloem to the right who stepped inside and dived over. The conversion was successful and EG Jansen was leading 7-0.
Glenwood showed that the battle was on as they visited EG Jansen’s danger zone a few times but failed to convert.
EG Jansen stretched their lead when Kyle Potgieter went over for a try right under the poles – 3 minutes before half-time. He converted and the scoreboard ticked over to 14-0.
Glenwood refused to give up and made their way up field into their 22m. Blaine Golden got the pass from Jonas and nearly made it over. From the maul Jonas played it to the outside to Lehlohonolo Litabe who crashed over, giving Glenwood a sigh of relief. The conversion was successful, and the scoreboard was on 14-7
Both teams would be disappointed with their handling errors as they missed out on numerous opportunities. We were excited to see what the 2nd half would bring. EG Jansen players looked a little fatigued (probably from the altitude).
Early in the 2nd half, Glenwood were penalized for not releasing the ball on their 5m line. EG Jansen went with the tap and go but a good tackle brought them to ground. Nevertheless, a quick ball to the prop Brandon Pienaar gave him the opportunity to dive over. The conversion missed and the score was 19-7.
A strong run from Linden Roman inside EG Jansen’s 22m, when he found support from Nanto Sikholise, quick pass to Marthino van Wyk who cuts back inside to score. The conversion was successful, and Glenwood closed the gap, trailing by 19-14.
EG Jansen went into a period where they conceded a lot of penalties and Glenwood gladly accepted to take the three points on offer. Glenwood took the lead in the 55th minute with 20-19.
There was some excitement as EG Jansen’s hooker Kyle Pepler found some space and sprinted down the touchline. He made it all the way and a valiant effort from Carlo Cloete couldn’t stop him from reaching over to dot down. The conversion was successful and EG Jansen was in the lead with 26-20 and only one and a half minutes to play.
EG Jansen retrieved the ball from the kick off, trying to wind down the clock with short pick and go’s, but the Green Machine had other ideas. From the ruck the ball bounced out, quick play from Joe Jonas and Lehlohonolo Litabe brought Glenwood right up to their 5m line. A pass again to the left where Carlo Cloete found the gap and offloads to Steven Gibb who dives over.
Glenwood trailing by 1 point with the conversion to come. From the touch line, far left, Jordan Hendrikse lined up his kick. With a solid, confident strike, the ball sailed through the uprights. Glenwood snatched victory from the hands of EG Jansen. What a remarkable comeback from the Green Machine – a battle right to the end.
Glenwood now shift their focus to Selborne College, who they are playing on Saturday afternoon. With much improvement from last weekend, the Glenwood juggernaut will be confident
GLENWOOD: 27 (7)
Tries: Lehlohonolo Litabe, Marthino van Wyk, Steven Gibb
Con: Jordan Hendrikse (3)
Pen: Jordan Hendrikse (2)
EG JANSEN 26 (14)
Try: Duane Bloem, Kyle Potgieter, Brandon Pienaar, Kyle Pepler
Con: Kyle Potgieter (3)
Alex van der Merwe
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