Gill win FNB thriller at the death
Match Report
Gill College of Somerset East, overwhelming favourites in their FNB Classic Clash against Cradock High won 10-9 with a penalty a minute before the end.
Gill were playing at home and had had a much better season than Cradock had had but the visitors got stuck in from the start, tackling with great determination and ended within a minute of victory.
There was a big crowd at Gill College for the match on a perfect afternoon as the wind died away.
The match got off to a nervous start with many handling errors. Gill were the dominant side as their loose forwards won them a plethora of good ball but the Cradock defence seemed impenetrable.
Fanie du Plessis, the Gill coach, said afterwards: "It was scary. They were the underdogs and yet they could have won."
Cradock scored first when fullback Itaelio Cupido banged over a penalty, but Gill took the lead when fullback Hlumelo Matikinca scored a good try which Michael Bosch converted.
That made the score 7-3 to Gill at half-time.
Cupido goaled a second penalty to bring Cradock within a point and then with just two minutes to play inside centre François Bekker dropped a goal. The excitement and Cradock joy seemed to know no bounds.
But from the kick-off Gills secured the ball and Cradock were penalised for a high tackle. Bosch's penalty was true and gave his side the narrowest of victory margins.
It was a hard match.
For a preview of the match with information on the two schools and profiles of the captains, click here.
Scorers:
For Gill:
Try: Hlumelo Matikinca
Con: Michael Bosch
Pen: Michael Bosch
For Cradock:
Pens: Itaelio Cupido
Drop: François Bekker
Teams:
Gill College: 15 Hlumelo Matikinca, 14 Garth van Rayner, 13 Khanyusa Nonyatu, 12 Hlanga Nodongwa (captain), 11 Llewendal Loots, 10 Michael Bosch, 9 François de Villiers, 8 Christiaan Louw, 7 Frederick Vosloo, 6 Herman Louw, 5 Stephan Greeff, 4 Maso Nduna, 3 Boet Greeff, 2 Stewart Heyneke, 1 De Wet Greyling.
Coaches: F du Plessis, N Lombard
Cradock High: 15 Itaello Cupido, 14 Elrich Smith, 13 Le Roux Terblanche, 12 François Bekker, 11 Déandre Prinsloo, 10 Michael Bergman, 9 Franco Heinse, 8 Charlie van Jaarsveld, 7 Damian Cupido, 6 Bredell Michau, 5 Christopher Thompson, 4 Hannes Lombard (captain), 3 Athi Tembani, 2 Kobus Tait, 1 Simon Chernaly.
Coaches: Rudolph Weitz, J van der Merwe
Referee: Joe Knoesen