Affies enjoyed a rewarding afternoon on Goldstone’s in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday, building up strong momentum to turn a seven-point halftime lead into an emphatic 40-12 victory over Maritzburg College in a King Price Derby Series clash.
The teams were tied at 5-5 until the last minute of the first half, when Francois de Beer crashed over next to the uprights, and flyhalf Ruben Smith added the extras to give the Witbulle a 12-5 halftime lead.
Early in the second half, Affies’ skipper Martin van Niekerk bounced off two would-be tacklers to cross for another converted try, which extended their advantage to 14 points.
Later in the second stanza, they again capitalised on some uncharacteristic missed tackles and conceded another try, which perhaps underlined how much the Red, Black, and White missed their influential SA Schools‘ centre, Olwethu Kosani, whose defensive organisation and hard-hitting tackling have been one of the cornerstones of a rugged defence.
On Saturday, though, Affies ground out victory with direct, physical running and good finishing once they found their footing. In the first 13 minutes of the contest, they dominated possession and territory, but they were turned over numerous times with the try line mere metres away. Eventually, though, they forced their way over from a rolling maul, with Charl Els dotting down.
“We started the way we wanted to, keeping the ball well, but we couldn’t finish, which was maybe a symptom of last playing together as a team on 23 May. But the guys rallied in the second half, and I was proud of the reaction that they showed after the break.”
Jacobs said he was most pleased with his players’ mindset. He added another aspect: “Keeping the ball, not unnecessarily kicking it away,” which was reflected in the way they spread the ball and ran it. The Witbulle boast a big team, but they showed they’re not just about brawn. There is no shortage of skill in their ranks.
Winning on Goldstone’s is no mean feat, Jacobs acknowledged, and he identified another key ingredient in his side’s success: “The leadership in the team was outstanding, so I am very thankful.”
Five minutes after Affies opened the scoring, College replied with a try of their own, with Matthew Harris going over in the left-hand corner. Only the left upright prevented Dom du Toit from putting his team into the lead with a touchline conversion. Then came De Beer’s dive for five just before the halftime whistle.
In the third minute of the second half, Affies’ captain Martin van Niekerk struck an important blow for his side. Then, in a crucial passage of play, Maritzburg College appeared to have struck back when right wing, Lwanzo Vyambwera, with little room to work, slipped a tackle and raced up the right touchline. He was brought to ground but not held. He quickly got back to his feet and ran through to score in the corner. However, after consultation between the referee and one of his assistants, the referee signalled a penalty to Affies for Vyambwera not having released the ball before continuing.
The match was fiercely contested and contained some niggle, and that brought another crucial decision a short while later when the ref showed College lock Sean Jansen a yellow card after a bit of pushing and shoving. The decision could just as easily have gone the other way, but Jansen is an enforcer-type, and he was on the wrong end of the decision. It resulted in Affies winning a penalty inside the hosts’ 22 and they quickly turned that into a lineout and a try from a maul, with Ruben Venter applying the finishing touch.
Smith’s successful conversion kick made it 26-5, which gave Affies breathing room, confidence, and momentum.
They added two more tries in the last 10 minutes, from Juan Venter and Joshua Gouws, both converted by Smith, to further add salt to the Maritzburg College wounds.
College flank, David Colenbrander, broke through for five points, too, with Du Toit converting, leaving the visitors with a handsome 28-point victory after outscoring the home side by six tries to two.
The King of the Match went to Affies’ powerful left wing, Dehan Botha, who put in some storming runs. The foundation for victory, though, was laid by a dominant performance from their tight five.
Scorers:
Maritzburg College 12 (5) – Tries, David Colenbrander. Conversion: Dom du Toit. Affies 40 (12) – Tries: Francois de Beer, Charl Els, Martin van Niekerk, Ruben Venter, Juan Ferreira, Joshua Gouws. Conversions: Ruben Smith (5).
Other results:
II: Affies 35 Maritzburg College 31
III: Affies 38 Maritzburg College 12
IV: Affies 39 Maritzburg College 5
V: Affies 57 Maritzburg College 0
VI: Affies 43 Maritzburg College 19
VII: Affies 63 Maritzburg College 0
VIII: Affies 60 Maritzburg College 5
IX: Affies 87 Maritzburg College 0
X: Affies 100 Maritzburg College 7
u16
A: Affies 43 Maritzburg College 28
B: Affies 31 Maritzburg College 10
C: Affies 40 Maritzburg College 10
D: Affies 55 Maritzburg College 0
E: Affies 106 Maritzburg College 0
u15
A: Affies 19 Maritzburg College 13
B: Affies 21 Maritzburg College 8
C: Affies 57 Maritzburg College 7
D: Affies 43 Maritzburg College 3
E: Affies 43 Maritzburg College 7
u14
A: Affies 46 Maritzburg College 10
B: Affies 80 Maritzburg College 0
C: Affies 64 Maritzburg College 0
D: Affies 105 Maritzburg College 0
E: Affies 95 Maritzburg College 0
F: Affies 62 Maritzburg College 13
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