Paarl Boys' High Rule OK
The king is healthy and firmly on his throne but winning the battle was not as easy as the score suggests. Twelve points came in the last seven minutes, which makes the outcome look more comfortable than what is was.
The difference was really chances taken against chances missed. But then the good sides are always better at taking chances than the opponents whom they beat.
You just had to see the beginning of the game to know that Paul Roos were tackling this difficult task with zest. That and Paarl Boys' High's greater directness and cohesion. That and the work of the loose trio - Khanya Ncusane, Francke Horn and Charl Serdyn - and the lively Michael Visser.
It was fine match, full of energy, bravery and skill, watched by a big crowd and supported by the serried ranks of uniformed schoolboys on a lovely winter's afternoon in Stellenbosch.
The way the match started, you would have thought that Paarl Boys' High would run away with it. They kicked off, Paul Roos responded, and there was a line-out just inside the Paarl Boys' High half. Paarl Boys' High won the line-out and suddenly inside centre Hanri van Heerden broke at speed in midfield. At great speed he curved out to the right and beat the covering defence to score in the corner. 5-0 after one minute.
There would be no runaway as that turned out to be the only try in the half. Not that there was a lack of action as Paul Roos were determined against a side that had the vast majority of possession.
Visser and Urgene Johannes raced down the right, but the defence held. Big Francke Horne charged ahead, but the defence held and then Paul Roos had a golden chance. They turned a penalty into an attacking line-out and bashed at the line over and over. They just failed to get a try but Paarl Boys' High were penalised and Joshua Vermeulen goaled. 5-3 after 14 minutes.
Paarl Boys' High came close to scoring when No.8 Ncusane broke from a scrum and chased a kick ahead. There was a struggle for the ball which came free. Ncusane kicked ahead and dived on the ball but the referee had detected a knock-on in the possession contest.
Just on half-time, the Paul Roos backs came up too early at a line-out and Gianni Lombaard goaled from far out but straight in front. 8-3, which was the half-time score, a tribute to great Paul Roos defence.
Paul Roos attacked at the start of the half but lost the ball and Johannes started running. Horne carried it on and Lombaard, with a step and dummy, got close and then as he was tackled he flung a left-handed pass to Johannes who scored in the right corner. 13-3 after 40 minutes.
Paarl Boys' High attacked with great directness and the forwards did a pick-n-drive in fast phases off a turnover. Paul Roos were penalised, and Lombaard made it 16-3 after 56 minutes.
Paul Roos attacked and David-Lee Moses arced down the right, chipped and was leading the race for the ball when it perversely bounced sharply to the right and into touch.
Paarl Boys' High won a turnover at a heavy tackle by Salmaan Moerat and substitute Tiaan du Plessis kicked far downfield on the left. He chased the ball which did a bit of difficult dancing, but Du Plessis got the ball and, tackled, popped the ball to substitute prop MJ Strauss who scored under the posts. 23-3 after 63 minutes.
Paarl Boys' High got into the Paul Roos half and the ball came back from a ruck to Visser who moved left and flicked a reverse pass to Horne who charged 25 metres to score. 28-3 after 68 minutes.
That was the final score in a match that must have made both great schools proud.
Scorers:
For Paul Roos:
Pen: Joshua Vermeulen
For Paarl Boys' High:
Tries: Hanri van Heerden, Urgene Johannes, MJ Strauss, Francke Horne
Cons: Gianni Lombaard
Pens: Gianni Lombaard 2
Teams
Paul Roos: 15 Joshua Vermeulen, 14 David-Lee Moses, 13 Aydon Topley, 12 Lyle Hendricks, 11 Colia Louis, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Tiaan Coetzee, 8 Bruce Coetzee, 7 Johan Joubert, 6 Hanré du Toit, 5 Jesse Johnson, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Tristan Leitch, 2 Daneel Steinman, 1 Cameron Dawson
Replacements: 16 Juan-Marc Fryer, 17 Alexander Mbete, 18 Pieter Nel, 19 Philip van Dyk, 20 Hans Koetsier, 21 Gerado Jaars, 22 Marais Cloete, 23 Dylan de Villiers
Paarl Boys' High: 15 Gianni Lombaard, 14 Urgene Johannes, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Hanri van Heerden, 11 Takir Abrahams, 10 Rayhaan Lombard, 9 Michael Visser, 8 Khanya Ncusane, 7 Francke Horn, 6 Charl Serdyn, 5 Ewie Loubser, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Adam Neethling, 2 Daniel Jooste, 1 Reece Bezuidenhout,
Replacements: 16 Wilhelm Barnard, 17 MJ Strauss, 18 Armandt Conradie, 19 Vian Fourie, 20 Eric Myburgh, 21 Tiaan du Plessis, 22 Luca Ferreira, 23 Riaan Barnard
Referee: Bennie Bothma (Western Province Referees' Society)
Assistant referees: Riaan Tolken (Western Province Referees' Society), Irfan Manuel (Western Province Referees' Society)