U20A1s defeat brave Villagers

In a wet, ugly affair, UCT managed to come back from 6-0 down at thebreak to defeat a plucky villagers outfit, 16-6.

The game began in treacherous wind and rain, and unfortunately this put the boot into most positive attacking play, as both sides were forced to be more conservative than usual. The opening points went to Villagers with a well taken long range penalty, whilst UCT could only manage a few promising attacking plays which ended in the inevitable handling error or errant pass. This was clearly a game for the forwards, and much superb work was done by the big men up front, with all of them excelling at points in time.

The half time break saw little panic but a realisation that now was the time to turn it on as we now had the wind at our backs. Straight away we moved down into the Villagers half, and showed a good tactical acumen in remaining down there for large parts of the half. This would still not deter the boys from playing with some freedom and putting some exciting passges of play together, which is sure to become a trait of this team in the future, as they show their wide array of skills as well as a steely team spirit.

Three penalties from Doug Mallet, saw UCT into the lead, and from there there was little sign of that being lost. Then with the Villagers being a man down at no. 8, and the Trojans having been well-prepared for this eventuality, a slick back-row move worked perfectly for Ntsolo Setlaba to dot down under the poles. 16-6 it would remain, and the boys can be happy with the win, which they duly celebrated in style!

Team: Williams, Botha, Paul, Brukman, Esterhuyse,Setlaba,Van Lierde,Macdonald,Farrar,Mallett (c), Bester, Jenkinson, Taberer, Bell, Bruinders
Reserves: Page,Botha,Watermeyer, Awande