Boishaai take scrappy game

Although hosts Boland Landbou staged a spirited fightback in the last ten minutes, they were unable to avoid a 10-20 defeat at the hands of Paarl Boys' High at the Farm on Saturday.

Doomsayers who predicted a soggy field were made to eat their words as the magnificent Paardeberg Field, scarified and relaid at the end of the 2010 season, provided a top-class surface throughout.

The opening seconds of the match gave a rather unpleasant indication of what was to come from Boland Landbou as they knocked on flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis’s kick-off right on their goalline.

After several phases of possession by the visitors, however, the ball was turned over, giving the hosts a chance to clear their lines.

This came to naught as the Farmers were penalised by referee Jonathan Kaplan at the resultant line-out, giving Jean-Luc du Plessis the opportunity to open the scoring from the tee (3-0).

Virtually from the kick-off Landbou were offered a chance to equalise, but pivot Heinrich Bühr pulled his kick wide. However, the home team did take some heart from having at least started to ask questions of their opponents, with hooker Arno van Wyk at the forefront of several driving mauls.

Unfortunately this brief ascendancy went to the hosts’ collective head and an unrealistic looping pass was easily intercepted by fleet-footed Boishaai outside centre Dewald Naude, who ran in untouched under the cross-bar from 40 metres out. Du Plessis slotted the conversion (10-0 after 13 minutes).

A frustrating tendency by both sides to turn over good possession and commit frequent infringements at rucks meant that there was little creative rugby in the middle stage of the first period, while both flyhalves missed shots at goal.

Around the 22nd minute the Streeptruie pack started to look ominous, with hefty prop Wesley Adonis particularly prominent, only for a number of promising phases to be nullified by a penalty.

The visitors had taken heart and only a knock-on in the corner prevented willow-thin left wing Danté van der Merwe from stretching the visitors’ lead. Boland inexplicably messed up at the scrum and it took obstructive running by the Boishaai backline to prevent them from going further behind.

The Windmeul Warriors were proving maddeningly consistent in one aspect as what could best be described as another throwaway pass was pinched by Boishaai. They were awarded a penalty from the ensuing ruck, which du Plessis slotted to take the score to 13-0.

Landbou found themselves in a rare attacking position in the closing minutes of the half, but a fine jinking run by full back Darian Hock saw Boishaai get out of jail. On either side of this interlude, Du Plessis missed two kicks at goal, the second of which, right on the half-time whistle, was right in front from 30 metres. Half-time: Paarl Boys’ High 13 Boland Landbou 0.

The most exciting thing to happen in the early part of the second half was a brief cloudburst on the quarter-hour mark, which didn’t help the hosts’ cause as they searched in vain for clean go-forward ball.

A bit of niggling resulted in a captains conference with the referee as both sides started to let their frustrations cloud their judgement. Midway through the half Bühr finally put the locals on the board with a penalty (13-3).

Just when it appeared that there was to be no more scoring, a missed penalty effort by du Plessis resulted in another Landbou meltdown, giving Boishaai two five metre scrums in quick succession, from the second of which the pack drove Adonis over near the posts. Du Plessis didn’t miss this one and the lead was a relatively comfortable 20-3.

Landbou have shown their best form of late in the final quarter of each game. So it was in this encounter, but, despite turning over possession after good work by scrumhalf Sheldon Castle, who stole the ball from the back of a Boishaai scrum, they had to wait another minute or so before left wing JC van Reenen dived over in the corner with barely four minutes left.  

Bühr converted from touch to make it 20-10, but there wasn’t enough gas left in either side’s tank and that’s the way it finished.

Neither side can be remotely satisfied with a lacklustre, stop-start performance.  

Boishaai might take heart from dominating exchanges for the first 55 minutes, but will be regretting not having translated this into points, something they will not get away with at Paul Roos on Saturday. Landbou looked good in spurts, but self-destructive passing out back ensured that they will have plenty to work on before they visit Paarl Gim on 16 June.

There was a pretty large crowd, given the weather, but it’s unlikely many of the spectators would have been discussing a game devoid of real highlights afterwards.

The scorers:

For Boland Landbou:

Try: JC van Reenen

Con: Heinrich Bühr

Pen: Bühr

For Paarl Boys' High:

Tries: Dewald Naudé, Wesley Adonis

Cons: Jean-Luc du Plessis 2

Pens: Du Plessis 2

By Tony Stoops