From Behind the Posts

Transcription

1 7 August 2013, 16 th Edition From Behind the Posts How cruel and beautiful this game of rugby can be, all at the same time, depending which way the heartless oval ball bounces for you at the death. I have never in all my walk with this brutal game experienced such a downward spiral as the one we find ourselves in at the moment. Never have I had to deal with such a string of crushing defeats and never have I grown and learned so much about the game, myself and those in and around the circle. What do you say when your team has given absolutely everything they had and somehow still managed to find themselves defeated on the scoreboard? All I can really say is that I am immensely proud of the effort the boys displayed in a fierce contest. We might have not been 100% accurate in some areas of the game, but the determination and fighting spirit the boys showed, to try and save the game at the end, is a picture that will remain with me for a long time. I will remember Stef de Gouveia s and Luke Stringer s last surges for the line in those final seconds as they powered forward with Wynberg Boys hanging off them - something that would not have been possible from just pure physical strength. The match itself was epic, as only these derbies can be, with both teams contributing to a wonderful advert for schoolboy rugby. In my view we played most of the rugby, but again with not much reward as desperate defence and a host of penalties from an infringing Wynberg team kept us from crossing the battle line in those opening minutes. Both sides were clinical in securing their own ball at the set pieces, with the middle of the field seeing most of the action and both teams not giving an inch.

2 We took control of the second half right from the re-start, as our pack started to get the better of their Wynberg counterparts. Kyle White and Graham Geldenhuys both powered over after sustained pressure as we again moved into the nervous twenties: leading with ten minutes to go. Surely not again I heard a voice whisper in my head and then it happened again! From out of nowhere, and totally against the run of play, deep in the Wynberg half the nightmare of an unlikely comeback reared its beautiful, ugly head. We have had our fair share of balls bouncing wrong for us this season - but this one took the cake. It couldn t have bounced more perfectly for their speedster, who pounced on it like a wild Cheetah on acid, as he made his way to that now cursed right hand corner for a sensational finish. It has me rolling around in the early hours of the morning wondering what went wrong. Their first try, also a chip kick from their potent playmaker, was just as beautiful and devastating as the second one: so credit to Siya who executed the skill of kicking the ball into inch perfect space. Looking at our game, I am the first to admit that we could have varied our game a bit more as the space was freely available on the outside. In saying that, we tried going wide on a couple of occasions but quickly found ourselves under pressure as below par passing put us on the back foot. With the team s confidence at a low we resorted to playing in the safety of our power game as our forwards kept it tight with an energy sapping slow ball game. The interaction between our forwards and backs, which is normally a highlight of our play, was non-existent on this occasion. So, the questions I ask myself now, in hind sight, Could I have or should I have changed what was happening in the game at that time? I don t think so and besides, what the boys were doing at that stage was working beautifully. I suppose this is the difficult situation I find myself in at the moment as I wonder what I could have done differently, but the reality is that we were in complete control, as in the last couple of games, so there was no need to change anything. In most seasons you might have one or two balls bouncing wrong for you, but two in one game leaves one stunned and asking questions: questions that most probably would not have been there had we managed to escape one or two of those skewed bounces. Defending the ball that bounces wrong for you is very difficult in the game of rugby and so to in life. It is something that you need to accept and learn from: dwelling on it and trying to defend what happened will keep you on the back foot and looking back. We are one score away from releasing the pressure that we find ourselves under. Hopefully we can score a couple more points than twenty in our next outing, which will set these boys free to express their potential, of which we have seen some beautiful glimpses before the self-destruction began to set in. See you behind the poles. Clinton van Rensburg

3 Results RBHS WBHS 19A L 19B L 19C 23 0 W 19D L 19E W 19F 27 7 W 16A 32 3 W For fixture and result updates, follow Rondebosch Rugby on 16B 28 0 W 16C 7 8 L 15A 3 5 L 15B 0 22 L 15C 0 14 L 14A W 14B 5 19 L 14C W 14D L Total points Av points SA Schools International Games - 9 August 2013 Congratulations to six of our players who have been selected to represent WP teams in an International Schools Festival at City Park, Athlone this coming Friday 9 August. Stef de Gouveia Graham Geldenhuys Khanyo Ngcukana Brett Paulse (withdrew) Luke Stringer Kyle Whyte

4 Auric Auto 1 st XV sponsor- 2013

5 Reports U19A RBHS 20 (8) vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 23 (8) Some reports are easier to write than others. This one, in particular, is one of the more difficult ones. After an almost sleepless night, rolling around and still not getting over the disbelief, massive disappointment and sympathy for what the 1 st team boys have had to endure, it still took me more than a day to put my thoughts together. I had to find a way to balance these feelings and thoughts with my absolute joy and satisfaction of so many other good things of the day overall. When we played this fixture last term at Wynberg, we had won one more match, but the average point difference on the day was just over two points per match in Wynberg s favour. This time around, we won one less match, but the average score was now more than three points per match in our favour. This translates to an improvement of five points per team and, considering that there were a number of very close losses, I felt that the general growth in rugby throughout the season was reflected very well. Quite a few teams turned their results around from their previous encounter against the boys from The Berg, but there are four that stood out to me: 1. The U14A team has put in a number of good performances this year, improving as they learn to play together as a team. They put the disappointment of their narrow previous loss to Wynberg and the bruising from Boishaai (who also bruised Gim this weekend by 40 points) behind them and got a convincing victory with a solid, commanding performance. 2. U14C was reeling at half time at 20-0 down, but put up the fight of their lives to win the match 22-20! 3. My performance of the day (if not the year) must go to the U15A team. After watching them put up a very lacklustre and below average performance against the touring visitors from Cobham Club, I feared for the worst on Saturday. If they were going to play with that sort of attitude against one of the better U15 sides in the toughest league in South Africa (Wynberg narrowly missed out by only one point to Paul Roos last weekend), they would be in for a long day after Wynberg beat them 52-7 only three months ago. What I saw on Saturday was a delight and, to be honest, a very pleasant surprise for everyone (except the Wynberg team and supporters) at Meadow B. Our boys played with passion, committed to each other and the team and celebrated every single small achievement of every player on the field. Every scrum, every tackle, every run was celebrated. With time basically up, they had a chance with a very unlikely, long range penalty to cause the upset of the year. Unfortunately, but quite understandably, the kick was short and the match ended 5-3. I salute the players and their coaches for this great performance. Just remember, this match is now over and the next challenge will not be any easier. 4. Just like my heartache for the 1 st team boys, my other biggest heartache of the day must go to the U16C team who fought hard to come from behind and take the lead, only to be denied by one point when Wynberg converted a penalty at the end.

6 This brings me to the tough topic of the 1 st team result. I do not have answers and, if I did, I would probably be able to write a book that would make lots of money or take over Nic Mallet s job at Supersport. Over the past few years I have heard that the White Jerseys are cursed and that is why we have not won in them since Those same people might have been able to convince me this weekend that our new scoreboard is cursed and that it gets stuck on 20 for the home side. However, when I look at how good this team is and at the very good rugby they have played this year, I keep on getting to a place where I do not have any answers. Their performances would not have been possible if they were not well coached or conditioned either. This is a team who knows how to score and does it very well. Incredibly, they have lost two more matches than they have won so far this year, but still have scored 146 points more than they have conceded. They have conceded 36 tries, but scored 59 of their own! This is clearly not a team who does not understand how to score. Paarl Boishaai is one of the top five teams in South Africa, yet only five teams (Gim, Paul Roos, Grey College, Outeniqua, and Waterkloof) managed to score more points against them than we did. Wynberg also scored more than 20 points against them, but they conceded 55 points to them. Concerns were expressed that Bosch conceded 25 points to Boishaai in the second half, but on Saturday we saw how the top team in SA (Paarl Gim) conceded 24 points to them in the second half. The 2011 team (with the same coaching staff) will be remembered for a very good season, but few will remember how many of their matches they had to score in the last minutes to scrape a win. Two draws were secured by converting penalties on the final whistle and six other matches were won by five points or less. Most famous was William Keet s drop goal after the siren against Grey High for a one point win. So far this year, the 1 st team has lost five matches by a point difference of less than one score. When matches are this close, some would argue that it is just the bounce of the ball or one or two 50/50 calls that swing a match. Seems like the ball bounced in our favour in 2011, while in 2013 we just cannot get it to bounce at all. Kevin Musikanth, the newly appointed head coach of the Ikeys Varsity Cup campaign, wrote an article about the match and in two sentences he summed up what many would have seen, and others would have chosen not to see: Those that witnessed the game would have been on the edge of their seats until the final whistle: a rollercoaster match with the lead changing three times and the result on a knife edge right to the end. The magic of Siya Alam and the leadership and toughness of Sage versus 15 outstanding RBHS boys, with some special players to mention: one of the best back three s I have seen in school boy rugby this year, some sublime kicking skills and some monsters in the tight five. RBHS seemed to have had it all their way on the day, playing well and throwing everything at the WBHS youngsters.

7 When I try to be objective, I have to agree with Kevin and sing praises about the beauty of the schoolboy derby that lived up to the expectations of the purist. However, when I think about the match as someone who is close to the team in a very subjective manner, my summary of Saturday will be that Wynberg had two good kicks that bounced perfectly and on both occasions gave them seven points. Of course it is not quite as simple as that, but imagine for just one minute that those two bounces went the other way Wynberg had a dream start when the first of those kicks were followed up brilliantly (after one of our kicks did not go the right way) to put their hooker over for a try in less than one minute after the kick off. After that, it was all Rondebosch. We did all the play, had all the possession and all the territorial advantage. After Jay Stevens try and Tyren Lee s penalty, we took the lead for the first time in the match. At that time I was near Mike de Bruyn, the school sports writer for the Sunday Argus. His comment was that Rondebosch was deservedly in the lead because after that first minute try from Wynberg, there was only one team on the field. Five minutes before half time, Wynberg paid their second visit to our half and converted a penalty to end the first half at 8-8. It felt incredibly unfair that one team could dominate so much and yet still only be level on the scoreboard. The second half saw more of the Bosch dominance, with power tries from Graham Geldenhuys and Kyle Whyte to take us to a well-deserved lead with only 10 minutes to go. This is when the completely surreal and unbelievable happened again. Wynberg scored twice (including the second try from a good bounce) in ten minutes to leave our boys stunned at the final whistle with the scores at I know that what I and most others are struggling with, is not that we lost a match so close to the end (it happens to most teams as some stage or another), but the fact that this is like we have been living the same scenario for the third week in a row! I will be first to admit that Boishaai was different - they changed gears in the second half and overpowered us, but with both Boland and Wynberg we were leading only to lose the match in the last quarter after dominating our opponent. As I said, we can all see that something needs to change, but to figure out what, is not as easy as that. What I do know, is that we have a very good bunch of boys with a good coaching staff that will not leave one stone unturned in their efforts to put this behind them and work towards their next goal - a double over old foes, SACS. Tries: Jay Stevens, Graham Geldenhuys, Kyle Whyte Conversions: Tyren Lee Penalties: Tyren Lee Gustaf Pienaar MIC Rugby & 1 st XV Manager

8 U19B RBHS 12 vs WYNBERG 19 Wynberg won this encounter, which Bosch should have won by at least ten points. Wynberg ran the ball from the first moments and their intentions were clear. Dylan Harty (centre) started in grand style with a thumping tackle on his opposite number. Wynberg were getting 80% of the ball in the first ten minutes and it came as no surprise when their centre slipped through a gap to score (7-0). Bosch came back fighting and, in the fourteenth minute, winger Jacques Potgieter scored. Full back, Hilton Gibson, converted from the touch line (7-7). Bosch were now getting a greater amount of the possession, with flankers, Robert Waddilove and Alessandro Napoli, and lock, Sean Botha, first to the loose ball. Unfortunately, Bosch were again guilty of kicking away good ball instead of passing. Waddilove and Lilhe Kula (lock) were winning excellent lineout ball for Bosch. Five minutes before half time, Wynberg scored a good try to take the lead again (12-7). The last minutes of the first half belonged to Bosch and winger, Zee Xhanga, came very close to scoring. Scrum half, Luke Houba, was providing flyhalf, Jean Naude, with an excellent service. Bosch missed an easy penalty at the end of the first half leaving Wynberg ahead (12-7). In the second half, Bosch started well by getting plenty of possession, but were again guilty of kicking away good ball. From one of Bosch s many poor clearances, Wynberg ran the ball, resulting in an unnecessary try, to lead The next twenty minutes of the game belonged entirely to Bosch and the play was all 30 metres from the Wynberg line but somehow Wynberg prevented a try. Bosch had at least five scoring opportunities Napoli dropped the ball with the line in his sights; Kula ran 35 metres and somehow the final pass went astray; Potgieter raced over the line to be called back for a forward pass; prop Justin Baty ran 45 metres and a try was only prevented by a high tackle. With only four minutes to go, hooker, Alex Cassar, scored but the important conversion failed. Bosch threw everything at Wynberg in the last few minutes, but could not add further points - a credit to Wynberg s defence. Bosch need to understand the importance of scoring when opportunities present themselves. Man of the Match was (arguably) Lilhe Kula. Rowan Harmuth U19C RBHS 23 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 0 A lovely morning greeted us, as we took to the field to take on one of our southern suburb rivals: Wynberg Boys. It is always a hard game to play as the berg boys never give up. We had worked very hard in the week to get our systems and calls up to scratch, making sure that we didn t leave one stone unturned, in order to get back onto winning ways again going into our three consecutive derbies. Boy oh boy, did all that practice time pay off with the side. Matthew Tippet moving from scrummy to flyhalf adapted and played a fine and solid game in the kingpin role, while Marc Thompson in the new scrummy berth controlled his game with ease and made up a great 9 and 10 combination. Dale Cornell proved to be a major workhorse on defence and attack, netting a hat trick of tries to sink the Wynberg heart and belief. Our backline defence was rock solid and showed the passion and heart we spoke so much about in the week. Jack Purcell, returning from injury and captaining the side, was brilliant as always around the park and in his decision making which had a calming effect on the boys and kept them focused on the task in hand. Our forwards on this day started to show that old fighting spirit that has been missing in the last couple of fixtures. We controlled our set pieces with ease both in the scrum and lineout department. Our lock pair of Adams and Roebuck played a great game in the tight and had some great carries. But one stand out for me was Man of the Match Dan Pearson at tighthead, who is slowly turning into a player that could represent himself in higher honours if he continues to believe in himself. I m proud of these boys, not because of the score board, but rather the unity and passion they showed in this game. Our motto for the week was we never give up and it sure showed. Well done boys! Tries: Cornell x 3, Pearson x 1 Penalties: Tippet x 2 Conversions: Tippet x 1 Man of the Match : Dan Pearson Divvie Maritz

9 U19D - no report submitted U19E RBHS 19 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 12 After what seemed to be a heat wave of note toward the middle and end of the week, the Flyers started their Triple Crown Campaign with an opening fixture against Wynberg (WBHS). The wonderful weather during the build up to the fixture only left a few muddy patches under foot from the last few weekends downpours. Play started with the Flyers receiving the kick off on their beloved Meadow C: "The Fortress" Field. The opening minutes saw the Flyers take full advantage of the kick off by bringing play right into the WBHS half and, eventually, the 22m area in no time. Unfortunately, after a slight handling error, the home side conceded the first uncontested scrum. The visitors took the ball to the blind side with an 8th man pick and send down the line. However, they were unlucky on that occasion as our young winger, Gift Qetu, snapped up a wonderful intercept and ran some 50m to an open try line to take a 5-0 lead. Dylan Doré made the conversion look easy and the score became 7-0. Not too long thereafter, the Flyers found themselves back in Wynberg territory, pushing and constantly asking questions of the visitors defence. The major excitement from the boys, however, proved to be a slight stumbling block as it resulted in a few offside calls as well as going off feet at breakdowns to turnover possession. This was not a major problem as Wynberg battled to get their kicks to find touch and as a result put the Flyers back in an attacking position. The second five-pointer of the morning came from a great bout of handling whereby our scrumhalf, Matthew Jeffreys, did very well to provide quick phase play service to get the ball down the backline to Aidan Child. He changed his angle to make a brilliant line break and, unselfishly, put Chris Mparutsa into the gap to dot down the second try. Unfortunately, the conversion went slightly wayward and the score remained 12-0 until the break. The second half proved to be a dramatic twist in the tail as Wynberg came in "guns ablazing" (so to speak) with constant, consistent pressure that left open spaces on the Flyers Wing. Wynberg opened their scoring account with a seven-pointer, making it a five-point game with some 20 minutes to go. We had a game on our hands! This try seemed to galvanise the Flyers as they charged right back with some brilliant carries by the forwards to gain some wonderful metres. With 15 minutes to go, and everything to play for, play became a bit scrappy as both teams hustled and bustled to get any form of possession, while being as frantic as possible. The result was a major possession seesaw. Then, a fumble from a clearance kick allowed the Flyers to capitalise on the mistake and put more points on the board: a knockon by Wynberg was quickly picked up by Aidan Wildschut who put Gift Qetu in the gap to score his second of the morning with that clinical line break. The conversion was all good and the score ticked over to The final score of the game came in the last two minutes. A swift line break from the away side once again exposed an open blind side and the Flyer s lead closed to Then Wynberg received their second yellow card of the morning and the game ended after a turnover resulting in a Wynberg knock-on. The final whistle evoked major emotion as well as elation as it ensured that our Triple Crown dream finish is still very much alive!!! For the Matrics who played their last Wynberg match, we thank all of you for your tremendous commitment and willingness to keep pushing and representing your school at such a wonderful fixture. A big thank you needs to go out to the parents and loyal supporters who have stood on the sidelines for every home game. This is going to be the most exciting end of the season EVER!!! We can only hope that you guys are as excited as we are. Tries: Chris Mparutsa, Gift Qetu (2) Conversions: Dylan Doré (2) Man of the Match : Daniel Hodson U19F - no report submitted Yusri Williams

10 U16A RBHS 32 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 3 The U16A continued their quest to remain unbeaten this term by taking Wynberg s scalp for a second time this year. Yet the score-line does not reflect their poor performance in the first half. Whether it was over-confidence, the unseasonal heat or playing on a dry field for a change that affected the boys play remains unknown. So many handling errors, missed tackles and general lethargy was seen that it was difficult to believe that this side had won five games on the trot. They were reminiscent of an old farm tractor on a cold, Karoo winter morning that just would not start. Wynberg drew first blood with a penalty after five minutes to take a 3-0 lead and it was only in the twenty third minute that Bosch were able to get on the scoreboard when Warrick Shimmings (5) dotted down for Nic Potgieter (9) to convert. This week Pottie brought his kicking boots along and after two successful penalties Bosch were 13-3 up at the break. The engine had now turned over and was firing on all cylinders. For the next 30 minutes there was only one team on the field and they were not in striped jerseys. In a clinical display of handling skills, forward drives and great team play, the boys showed how rugby should be played. Imraan Andrews (14) was the first to cross after a great run, with Potgieter adding the extra points to stretch the lead to Next over was fiery prop Leo Figuiera, but Potgieter (proving that he is not perfect) missed the conversion (25-3). Kyle Ballakistan (13) knocked the final nail into Wynberg s coffin when he went over for his sixteenth try of the season four minutes from the end. With Potgieter s kick through the uprights, the score remained at 32-3 until referee Steve Ray s whistle ended Wynberg s misery. Johann Gerber

11 U16B RBHS 28 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 0 The Blues continued their winning streak by effectively dispatching Wynberg 28-0 in a game where they proved that they don t need mud to win and could also give the ball lots of air and play a running game. Bosch was on the board at 7-0 after three minutes with a try by Dayyaan Galiem (10), converted by Ryan Oertle (15). Wynberg put up some resistance until Ferhad Ahmed (11) outsprinted their defenders to dot down under the posts leaving an easy conversion for Oertle to take the score to 14-0 at the turn. Virtually straight after the kick off, Ahmed again showed his pace for a second try, Oertle again adding the extra points to stretch the lead to Wynberg were now highly frustrated by the Bosch efficiency and sharp admonishments by referee, Neil Teubes, were needed to calm their frayed tempers. Nuggety Amani Minani (13) rounded off the Bosch victory with one of his typical tries - breaking through tackles, ducking and diving through opponents and showing a turn of speed before crossing the whitewash. The trusty boot of Oertle did the rest and the final score settled at Johann Gerber

12 U16C RBHS 7 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH SCHOOL 8 The final run of the season has begun. Three tough southern suburb derbies lay in wait and this first one was a nail biter. It all started a few days earlier, when the coaching team and the squad as a whole decided we would change the tone for these final three games. The coaches were going to tone it down, in terms of performance pressure, and we would instead take the approach of having fun for these final few games (in the hopes that this change of strategy would result in a change of fortune). The build up to this game was fantastic and we (the coaches) felt that we were in for a good run Twenty minutes into the Wynberg game it was still deadlocked at 0-0. Every imaginable stat was in our favour. All except one, which Wynberg took the upper hand in during the twenty first minute: line-breaks - a simple error, a quick turnover, a break down the line and a try in the corner. Wynberg leads 5-0. The score would remain like that till the end of the first half. Half time chat, we re encouraging the guys: C mon boys, they re defending the entire game. We need to up the pressure and keep pushing. We all believed it was possible. Ten minutes into the second half and finally, the Wynberg wall broke. Matthew Grant, our captain, forced his way over the chalk to score a much needed and well deserved try. And so we kept mounting the pressure and they kept defending and we kept making poor decisions and we remained scoreless. Eventually, Wynberg broke our line and were on the attack for the only time of the second half. They came all the way to our 15m line and then got a penalty. They converted and so it came to be 8-7 to the opponents. We continued attacking and they continued defending and, with that, our time ran out and we were left feeling hopeless and clueless as to how we lost the game. How can a team have 90% of both the territory and possession stats in their favour and only get one score in 60 minutes? It was a tough pill to swallow and hopefully we ll be able to turn things around for SACS. Try: Conversion: Man of the Match : Matthew Grant James Manten Hugh Dyason Gareth Heüer

13 U15A RBHS 3 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 5 What a fantastic game of rugby! Yes, we lost the game 5-3 but, reflecting on the degree of commitment and improvement shown, one can only be satisfied. A mere week ago we conceded over 40 points against Paarl Boys and on the Monday we lost by another 30 points against a touring English side. Wynberg on the other hand are rated in the top 10 in the country, they lost by one point against Paarl Boys and Paarl Gym. They also defeated Bishops. Our team, for the second time this season, pitched up on the day, played with a huge amount of passion and most importantly they stuck to the game plan for the duration of the game. The tackle of the day went to Dane for his smash just before half time whilst the Man of the Match award went to Sam who dictated and enforced our game plan. The team can take further heart that we played without Mike (our fullback) and proved that we can play without him. Having said all this I am not suggesting we should be happy with losing, as we had our chances to win, but rather that it proved that we can play at this level. Grant Paarman U15B RBHS 0 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 22 The U15B s yet again struggled to turn their impressive first half display into a positive result against Wynberg on Saturday. Trailing 5-0 at half time, the Bosch U15B s were definitely the better side in the first half; and had it not been for an 80 metre try from Wynberg, the boys could easily have gone into the break all square. Bosch were playing the tactical game perfectly in the first half and the half time team talk was about maintaining composure and forcing Wynberg into making mistakes deep within their own half. Bosch seems to be a bit cursed when it comes to the bounce of the ball straight after halftime, as Wynberg managed to score three quick tries against the run of play. After some bizarre decision making, some lacklustre tackling and yet another 80 meter try from Wynberg, Bosch found themselves 22-0 down five minutes into the second half. Yet again, however, the boys showed their character and kept fighting to the death to show Wynberg what they were really worth: crossing the Wynberg tryline on two occasions, only to be deemed to be held-up. The final scoreline will no doubt add to the motivation and desire of the boys, who seek to gain two derby victories over SACS and Bishops in the upcoming weeks. The boys have played their hearts out over thepast few weeks and hopefully their hard work will pay dividends as they look to finish the year strongly. Josh Carew

14 U15C RBHS 0 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 14 Going into the game, we knew that it was going to be tough seeing as Wynberg beat us convincingly in the first half of the season. The first half started off excellently. We kept Wynberg under pressure and made first time tackles. By focusing on defence we kept Wynberg from scoring for a full 20 minutes of the first half. Unfortunately, just before the end of the half, Wynberg scored a try bringing the score to 7-0 at half time. The second half was more of the same. We played most of the game in their half and with the score at 7-0 we knew we could win it. We had so many chances, but due to inexperience and the team not being at full strength, Wynberg was able to run in a late try to seal the win. We are very happy with the performance of the boys and we are extremely proud of the boys and look forward to the last two games. Gerrit Cilliers U14A RBHS 27 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 11 The return fixture against Wynberg was one that the RBHS side was very keen to turn around after a disappointing loss at the beginning of the season. Since then, the U14A team has grown from strength to strength and relished the opportunity of proving so against a tough Wynberg outfit. With an early knock-on penalty off the kick off, the Wynberg side was quick to take the three points on offer. The RBHS side bounced straight back after winning the re-start and ran in a try under the posts to leave the score at 7-3 after only a few minutes. Again some poor concentration and discipline allowed the Wynberg side to take another three points in front of our posts, however, the remainder of the half saw RBHS dominate possession and territory. We kept the ball alive with numerous quick taps and some extremely skillful off loads and support play - all of which kept Wynberg on the back foot and lead to another two tries, leaving the score at 17-6 at the break. The message at the break was to keep playing in their half, slow down the game a little and, most importantly, play RBHS rugby. The boys did just that and played some of the best attacking rugby they have all season. The way we moved the ball around the field, constantly keeping Wynberg on the back foot, was outstanding. We managed to score two more tries, but certainly created another two or three opportunities which could have easily led to more points if it wasn t for some silly handling errors and poor decision making. We did, however, fall asleep towards the end and allowed Wynberg to score a try pushing their score up to 11. But on the whole, the RBHS side played outstanding rugby which certainly showcased how much we have improved over the past few months. The final score was in favour of the RBHS side - a great turnaround from the first term. The maturity of the boys was something we as a coaching staff are extremely proud of: their ability to try the new things that we practiced and, more importantly, doing so with great effectiveness is very pleasing for the future. Congratulations on the great result and let s take this into our preparation for SACS and Bishops. Tries: Conversions: Zakareeyah Sallie (3), Cal Smid, Dylan Pienaar Hugo Minnaar Adam Rundle

15 U14B RBHS 5 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 19 After a nail-biting 12-7 victory in the first game of the season against Wynberg, the return fixture was a much anticipated one. As with most Southern suburbs derbies, we had no doubt in our minds that we were probably in for yet another close encounter. Both sides began nervously, with a number of handling errors, some of which were forced by some good defence. Bosch threatened to put the first points on the board for most of the first quarter, but we let ourselves down with numerous unforced errors. Eventually, the ball was successfully spread wide and an impressive run from flanker Ross Roode saw Bosch dot down under the uprights. Wynberg replied immediately with a converted try of their own after a missed tackle in midfield. As a result, Bosch went into half-time trailing 5-7 despite having had the lion s share of possession and opportunities. The second half proved to be much like the first, with Bosch enjoying a good percentage of the possession, but lacking the ability to convert this into points. Wynberg managed two more tries - the first from a lucky bounce of a loose ball and the second as a result of being beaten by sheer pace on the outside. At the final whistle, Bosch found themselves yet again lamenting an inability to put points on the board. One could only feel sorry for the forward pack who toiled long and hard to good effect for the full 50 minutes and hardly put a foot wrong. The bye this coming weekend now gives the Bosch outfit two weeks to regroup and prepare for the final two fixtures of the season. The team will be keen to turn around narrow losses against both SACS and Bishops from the first half of the season. Trevor Edwards U14C RBHS 22 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 20 The Chiefs went out against Wynberg on Saturday, coming off quite a tough loss against Boys High last weekend, and were looking to prove themselves. The boys had beaten Wynberg quite convincingly in the first term game and seemed to come out with a bit of complacency in the first half, which showed as we went into the break 20-0 down to quite a different Wynberg side. The boys went out in the second half with a point, or 22, to prove and set about playing proper Rondebosch Rugby. With one minute to go, Michael King put a kick in over the Berg defence and Vuyo chased down, gathered, beat a defender or two and scored in the corner to tie things up at Having not touched the kicking tee in two weeks, Morgan Bolnick decided to step up to attempt the all-important pressure kick to win the game. With the calm of an undisturbed lake, he coolly slotted the conversion from the touchline to give Bosch the victory, start the triple crown on a good note, and finish the scoring of 22 unanswered second half points. Tries: Vuyolwethu Kali (2) Jonathan Murray, Zakariyya Meyer Conversions: Morgan Bolnick Gareth Vlotman U14D RBHS 14 vs WYNBERG BOYS HIGH 22 Wynberg came back this term with a much hungrier side that put us under a bit of pressure in the first half. We managed to keep most of the possession and scored first in the second half. There was then an exchange of tries, however, Wynberg scored two quick tries towards the end. The boys didn't give up and provided spectators with an exciting finish, unfortunately losing Tries: Tristan Olivier, Gareth Jacobs Conversions: Cole Paulse (2) Gareth Vlotman

16 Bosch Rugby Supporters Club Annual Dinner: Thursday 5 September, Kelvin Grove Details will shortly be ed to Supporters Club members, please diarise the date now! Other members of the Bosch community are most welcome to attend the dinner. The evening is a Rugby Supporters Club function and does not replace the annual end of season functions for players, coaches and parents which are traditionally held for the various Prep and High School teams. Photos courtesy of Kara Robertson and Shaun Madison: