Steinhoff Internal League – Week 4 Review

Ubumbo and Clarendon was the fixture on everybody’s minds as the winner of that game would secure top spot of group D and the action didn’t let anyone down. Clarendon started off playing with the wind and this told as they scored the opening points of the fixture with a solid try leaving spectators to wonder if the res side could pull off an upset and take down the fast-paced Ubumbo side. Unfortunately this was not to be as the boys in blue attacked straight from the re-start and, though Clarendon soaked up a lot of pressure, eventually it told as Ubumbo crossed the line for their first try to level the scores. Ubumbo showed a lot of composure when they went down to come back firing and the first try seemed to break the backs of the res side as they began to concede tries at a rapid rate scoring only two more penalties in reply, particularly after the break when Ubumbo had the wind at their backs favouring their running play. Final score 35-13.

Shebeen Boys took on Smuts in one of the other games played on the night and Smuts certainly showed that they are one of the most improved res sides of this years tournament. Playing with the wind they scored first through a quick-tap midway through the first half. Shebeen however, showed that they were not going to lie down and proceeded to dominate at scrum and ruck time with their forwards giving a vastly improved performance than the one against Baa Baa’s a few weeks ago. They came back strong and from a recovered chip kick into Smuts 22m area, managed to put a man over for a try in the corner to make it 7-5 to Smuts at the half. With the wind Shebeen looked a much more dangerous outfit in the second half but some gritty Smuts defence continued to frustrate them. Late in the half a quick tap from Shebeen was turned over by Smuts and with a lull in the wind, the ball was booted down field. Through some excellent and determined chasing the Smuts fullback recovered the ball and with a long solo run, crossed over in the corner effectively ending any chances of a Shebeen comeback. Shebeen may feel a little aggrieved to have lost this one but, unfortunately, their back line failing to fire with the solid platform laid down by their forwards and not taking chances in the second half ultimately cost them the game 12-5.

Wildboys were up against Kopano in what turned out to be a messy affair. The game was characterized by stop-start play, as much to do with bad hands as the quality of refereeing on display. The sides traded penalties though Kopano were the first to score a try from a very bizarre passage of play as. Playing with the wind they kicked downfield over the Wildboys fullback. The ball crossed the try-line but instead of dotting down for a 22m the Wildboys fullback attempted to run it, despite several Kopano chasers being right there, and was tackled on the goal line. The ball popped up for anyone to grab which happened to be a Kopano player and he dotted down for the try. After trading another penalty each Wildboys managed a reply in the second half as, with the wind they piled on immense pressure to cross the line to level the scores. This summed up the second half as Wildboys continued to pressure the goal line whilst, through a combination of knock-ons, free kicks and desperate tackles Kopano kept them out for the remaninder of the game to leave the scores tied at 13 apiece.

Turtles vs Spanners has been postponed to a later date along with College vs Cobras. Barbarians and Ikhaya took full points as both University house and Marquad could not field a team on the night due to exams.