The Green Mile is known to be a little breezy, but on an evening that saw the live TV broadcast cancelled given safety concerns for the production crew because of the wind, it was the visiting Maties who managed incredibly difficult conditions better, eking out a five-point win.
Playing into the wind in the first half, the Ikey Tigers were made to work hard in order to stop a Maties pack who held the home side tight in their 22. It was anything but pretty, though. With the wind preventing both sides from getting any width into their attack, the well organised defences feasted. The end result a litany of errors, a mostly static game, and an incredibly static scoreboard.
Seven minutes before half-time, the Men in Maroon broke the deadlock via a penalty by flyhalf Juan Mostert. Boyed by the points, the visitors then notched up a try under the poles by wing Matthew Emile van Schalkwyk, which saw the Winelands side take a 10 point lead into the sheds.
Post the oranges, Ntokozo Makhaza gave the home fans hope as he slotted a penalty after Maties were penalised for being offside, taking the score to 10-3.
And were it not for a knock on 5m from the Maties tryline, the Ikeys would have equalised. Instead, though, Maties went the length of the field, making use of a well drilled breakdown, and extended their lead to 15-3 courtesy of a try by loosehead prop Vernon Matongo.
With 5 minutes to go, Ikeys centre Jonathan Roche powered over the tryline to set up a tense final few minutes. The visitors, as they had for most of the game, managed the conditions well, finding ways to stay in Ikeys territory to notch up an important, if ugly, win.
SCORERS
IKEYS 10 (0) – Tries: Jonathan Roche. Conversions: Ntokozo Makhaza. Penalties: Ntokozo Makhaza.
MATIES 15 (10) – Tries: Matthew Emile van Schalkwyk, Vernon Matongo. Conversions: Juan Mostert. Penalties: Juan Mostert.
FNB Player That Rocks: Mckyle Volmoer (Maties)
TEAMS
Ikeys: 1 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 2 Keagan Blanckenberg, 3 Bryan le Roux, 4 Enos Ndiao, 5 Johan van Rhyn, 6 Sipho Dyonase, 8 Taariq Kruger, 7 Reynardt Crous, 9 Riaan Genis, 10 Josh Boulle, 11 Ntokozo Makhaza, 12 Jonathan Roche, 13 Rethabile Louw, 14 Luke Burger, 15 Duran Koevort,
Finishers: 16 Mathew Beckett, 17 Johan Lombard, 18 Jovan Bekker, 19 Laro Delport, 20 Mika Schubert, 21 Wandile Mlaba, 22 Siphiwosethu Zungu, 23 Alex Vermeulen
Maties: Prince Rotondwa Mulea, Siyasanga Ngubelanga, Friedrich Cornelius Weilbach, Matthys Jacobus Bernardus Kitshoff, Matthew Gray, Eric Chris Basson, Louw Nel, Roland Leonard van der Heever, Mckyle Volmoer, Juan Mostert, Matthew Emile Van Schalkwyk, Aydon Colin Topley, Hofmeyr Gideon Retief, Ryan Marcus Manuel, Louis Johannes du Preez.
A few pics from the game:
