St Andrew's win ancient derby
St Andrew's of Grahamstown came down to Rondebosch and, in a rivalry dating back to 1896, beat Bishops 19-16 at Bishops. This victory came after five successive wins by Bishops.
St Andrew's playing on the Piley Rees against Bishops and a baleful north wind began the first half powerfully maintaining pressure and possession pretty much throughout it. Their rucking was aggressive and effective as, indeed, were all aspects of their play.
The visitors went into the lead early on scoring after a driving maul set up from a line-out - the maul must have travelled about 50 metres downfield. Soon after St Andrew's, pressing strongly, were awarded a penalty try against the home side, who were penalised for repeated infringement, the responsible player being yellow carded.
Truthfully, in this half there was only one side in the game, Bishops managing two penalty goals, one a splendid effort with the wind from beyond the half-way line.
The second half saw a dramatic change in the Bishops approach; in the first session of the game they looked subdued, won little possession and seemed destined for a thorough hiding but they started second half a different, dynamic team.
Tackling from both teams was fierce, almost brutal at times. Bishops created opportunities but too often spilled the vital pass. The game, too, was atypical of these two sides who are known for their running approach to the game - now, perhaps because of the very strong north wind, there was a great reliance on the modern ruck-and-crash approach that smothers individuality and flair. However, the tension was there; it is fair to say that Bishops had the better of the second half.
With only minutes to go, Bishops down 16-19, were awarded a penalty in front of the posts inside the St Andrew's 22. It seemed that the game would end in a draw but the home side determined to win the contest, chose to execute a penalty move that ended in a collision, typical of the game, and a drive for the line from the resulting ruck, that, sadly for Bishops, ended in failure as the final whistle sounded.
Bishops could have taken this traditional fixture but St Andrew's probably deserved their win.
The scorers:
For Bishops:
Tries: Cuan Hablutzel, Vuyo Quma
Pens: James van Heerden 2
For St Andrew's:
Tries: Penalty try, Sintu Manjezi, Matthew Alexandre
Cons: Joshua Devis 2
The teams:
Bishops: 15 Greg Alexander, 14 Keenan Jacobs, 13 James Goddard, 12 Herman Share, 11 Ant van Ryneveld, 10 James van Heerden, 9 Sean van Rensburg, 8 Abrahams, 7 Jo Miller (captain), 6 Wesley White, 5 Floris Groeninx, 4 Shane Smith, 3 Tahriq Allen, 2 Cuan Hablutzel, 1 Vuyo Quma
Reserves: Mike Mynhardt, Jason Morris, Luke Kuhn.
Coaches: Dave Mallett, Kevin Foote, Gareth Hayden
St Andrew's: 15 Chris Ford (vice-captain), 14 Joshua Devis, 13 Ethan Fortuin, 12 Ryan Horne, 11 Matthew Alexandre, 10 Jason Baggott, 9 Justin Ferrant, 8 Stuart Stopforth, 7 Zuko Gcezengana, 6 James Myburgh, 5 James Pagden, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Martin Chandler, 2 Garrick Bowker (captain), 1 David Murray.
Coaches: Gerry Posthumus, Allan Miles
Referee: Deon van Blommestein (Western Province Referees' Society)
Other results
1st XV: St Andrew's won 19-16
2nd XV: Bishops won 12-7
16A: Bishops won 27-17
15A: St Andrew's won 12-8
14A: Bishops won 57-10