Great Grey victory
It is not a scoreline that many would have forecast. After all Affies were ranked higher than the Bloemfonteiners, they had more than half of their victorious 2015 side back and they had more players who had been to Craven Week in 2015, including SA Schools prop Cabous Eloff. Affies looked physically stronger.
All of this mattered little as Grey ran in tries, seven in all to the four of Affies. 7-4 doesn't seem much of a difference but a difference of 24 points is huge.
The larger part of the 15 000 or so spectators was stunned but there was a smaller but remarkable part that was overjoyed and flooded the field at the end to hail the conquering heroes.
Sadly both sides lost a player early on through injury. The Grey flyhalf Christopher Schreuder was forced to leave the field, replaced by Jaco Wessels, and Affies lost last year's Craven Week flank Regardt du Plessis, a loss which Affies felt grievously.
Grey's try scoring started early when scrumhalf Rewan Kruger went over for a try which Rikus Pretorius converted, a man with a profitable boot. 7-0 after 5 minutes.
Pretorius and Ruan de Swardt exchanged penalties and it was a sedate 10-3 after 12 minutes.
All but one of the Grey tries were scored by backs. Right wing Henk Cilliers scored their second try, the only one Pretorius did not convert, and then lock Jaco van Tonder scored the third. After that the centres, Janco van Heyningen and Rikus Pretorius, the men who above all put Affies to the sword, scored a try apiece and Marnus Boshoff two tries.
That the Grey centres did so well probably came as a shock to Affies who would have expected big Louritz van der Schyff, a Craven Week player last year, and Marnus Potgieter, Grant Khomo Week last year, to dominate.
At half-time Grey led 29-17, four tries to two.
In the second half Grey scored three tries, Affies two. Affies scored their unconverted second try through Van der Schyff with just three minutes to go and then, proud team, they came back on determined attack.
The last try came in a hectic period of Affies attack at the Grey line. This suddenly fell flat when Boshoff intercepted the ball a metre out and sprinted down through empty acres with no possibility of an Affies player getting close to him. He scored under the posts, Pretorius converted and the final whistle went.
This, it seems, is the first time Affies conceded 50 points in a 1st XV match.
Scorers:
For Grey College:
Tries: Rewan Kruger, Henk Cilliers, Jaco van Tonder, Janco van Heyningen, Marnus Boshoff 2, Rikus Pretorius
Cons: Rikus Pretorius 6
Pens: Rikus Pretorius 2
For Affies:
Tries: Schalk Erasmus, Ruan de Swardt, Christian Strydom, Louritz van der Schyff
Cons: Ruan de Swardt 3
Pen: Ruan de Swardt
Teams
Affies: 15 Tristan Janse van Vuuren, 14 Carel Koch, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Louritz van der Schyff, 11 Christiaan Strydom, 10 Ruan de Swardt, 9 Jack Hart, 8 Jaco Labuschagne, 7 Phillip Krause, 6 Regardt du Plessis, 5 Henk Pretorius, 4 Dylan du Preez, 3 Arno van Wyk, 2 Schalk Erasmus (captain), 1 Cabous Eloff.
Grey College: 15 David Kriel, 14 Henk Cilliers, 13 Janco van Heyningen, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Marnus Boshoff, 10 Christopher Schreuder, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Dian Schoonees, 7 Juan Venter, 6 Wihan Kloppers, 5 Jaco de Beer, 4 Jaco van Tonder, 3 Gideo Beukes (captain), 2 Matthew Wessels, 1 Tristan Spies
Referee: Renier Coetzee (Blue Bulls Referees' Society)
Results Down the Years
1953: Grey won 3-0
1954: Grey won 9-3
1955: Grey won 19-0
1956: Draw 6-6
1957: Grey won 22-0
1958: Grey won 14-6
1959: Grey won 14-3
1966: Grey won 25-11
1967: Grey won 22-0
1970: Grey won 16-11
1971: Grey won 19-0
1973: Grey won 10-3
1974: Grey won 14-6
1992: Grey won 24-3
1993: Draw 26-26
1994: Grey won 13-6
1995: Grey won 37-13
1996: Affies won 25-3
1997: Grey won 19-9
1998: Draw 23-23
1999: Grey won 17-13
2000: Draw 17-17
2001: Draw 12-12
2002: Grey won 46-21
2003: Grey won 33-3
2004: Grey won 32-29
2005: Affies won 27-20
2006: Affies won 18-13
2007: Grey won 47-10
2008: Grey won 31-12
2009: Grey won 30-13
2010: Grey won 23-6
2011: Grey won 16-11
2012: Affies won 35-29
2013: Affies won 37-31
2014: Grey won 42-31
2015: Affies won 29-18
2016: Grey won 53-29