Wheels come off Border yet again
THE Border Craven Week team crashed to a disappointing 59-41 defeat against the Limpopo Blue Bulls in an extraordinary match played at St Stithians College in Johannesburg yesterday afternoon.
An incredible 100 points was scored in the match between the two sides as defences for both teams were almost non-existent. Missed tackles were aplenty and attackers ghosted through both teams’ lines time and again.
For Border it is another blow after starting their Craven Week with a big loss against the Lions and they will now have to pick themselves up for their final game.
“We looked really good on attack, we kept our shape and ran well, but we weren't able to hold onto possession for long enough and we missed way too many tackles,” said Border Craven Week coach Mark Farnham.
“It was just poor execution from the guys, they tried to tackle too high and no one looked like they wanted to make a proper hit, so that was really disappointing.”
Border started well, coming close to scoring before actually getting themselves on the scoreboard through a David Coetzer penalty in the fifth minute. The Bulls then hit back straight from the kick-off with a try to outside centre Vincent Roos before two more tries, all converted by flyhalf Reece Wynne, put them 21-3 up after just 12 minutes.
A two-minute double to Border wing Siphamandla Matsinya then saw the team fighting their way back, but two missed conversions from Coetzer, one from right in front, meant they still trailed 21-13 after 16 minutes.
Three minutes later Bulls back Kamogelo Motloa went over for his first converted try, with Matsinya then rounding off a nine-minute hat-trick, picking up a loose ball in Limpopo’s half, slipping through their defence and beating the final tackle to dot down under the posts for a converted score. A relatively quiet 12 minutes followed but Limpopo managed to get over for another converted try to Motloa just before halftime to take a comfortable 35-20 lead into the break. The second half got off to a disastrous start for Border as Limpopo scored two tries, one converted, to storm into a 47-20 lead after 41 minutes.
Two yellows, one to each team within minutes of each other, reduced both sides to 14 men before Border pulled a converted try back through fullback Jason Raubenheimer in the 53rd minute.
However, Limpopo then emphatically shut the door with two more tries in 10 minutes, including Motloa sealing his hat-trick, to go 59-27 up with Border then finishing well with two consolation tries to make the scoreline more respectable.
The teams final match opponent will be decided after today’s round of matches between the second half of the draw. “We want to win our final match, we just have to wait and see who we get and then we will take it from there,” admitted Farnham.
In other rugby action the Border U18 Academy week team heads into a massive battle today against the Lions XV in their second match of the week.
The team opened their account with a comfortable 35-15 win over the Leopards in their first game on Tuesday and they will be aiming to take that momentum into today's clash against the festival hosts.
The match kicks off at 1.20pm today, while the final round of matches for the Border Craven and Academy week teams will take place on Saturday.