‘Bosch close in on slam
Hopes of a first-round clean sweep kept alive with victory over Sacs
RONDEBOSCH have now beaten Wynberg and Sacs, and a win at Bishops next month would complete a mini-slam over their three traditional southern suburbs rivals in the WP Schools Under-19 A competition.
‘Bosch first saw off Wynberg with consummate ease earlier this month, and on Saturday welcomed and beat Sacs 27-8 (the half-time score was 10-8) to keep alive their hopes of a first-round clean sweep.
Bishops will be chasing the same feat and may have the edge over ‘Bosch when they host their archrivals early next month.
What a game in prospect at Piley Rees Field, and it will be shown live on SuperSport.
For now, ‘Bosch will savour another victory over Sacs, but it was a tough encounter that hung in the balance with 20 minutes on the clock.
Sacs were trailing 8-15 at this point and showing a lot of heart and fight. It would have been game on in the final quarter had scrumhalf Ian Paterson not lost the ball going over the whitewash. A score and conversion could well have seen the result hanging in the balance until referee Jonathan Kaplan called time.
‘Bosch are enjoying one of their best starts to a season and could well be in the running to be the fourthbest team in the province behind Paarl Gymnasium, Paul Roos and Paarl Boys’ High, who have had their number for many years now.
They opened their campaign with a big home loss to Paul Roos, but rebounded the following week with a convincing win at Boland Landbou to show they’re a side to be reckoned with.
Just the one loss before bigger battles to come, and who knows what lies in store for a team boasting a strong pack and a lively backline. The backs scored three of the four tries against Sacs, the last by flyhalf Kian Davis who looks a fair bet to crack a place in the Western Province Academy team. The Grade 11 boarder is a tall fellow who stands back for no one, and his ability to open up defences was evident. But he admits it was a tough game, made harder by the early injury to captain Matt Gray.
“Matt has 46 caps and his departure was a big loss, but we pulled it back in the second half and managed to get away with the win.”
Campbell Slater replaced Gray at lock and scored moments later to put his side 10-5 ahead. Scrumhalf Ishma-eel Safodien and eighth man Joshua King touched down as well for the home side, with fullback Conor van Eden weighing in with seven points with the boot.
Sacs enjoyed having the lead 10 minutes in, thanks to a solitary try by fullback Neal Lategan, but that was to be short lived. In terms of guts and determination, full marks to the boys in blue and white hoops.
SCHOOLS RESULTS
Malibu High 14, Westerford 5; Jan van Riebeek 21, Bellville South 14; Wynberg Boys 40, Bishops 60; Fish Hoek 38, De Kuilen 0; Somerset College 22, Edgemead 0; Bergvliet 17, Muizenberg 24; Hottentots Holland 41, Parow 10