Stellenberg in High-Scoring Victory

Stellenberg of Durbanville beat Brackenfell High 46-24 in an exciting, free flowing match at Hoërskool Stellenberg.

Tygerberg High School has for many years been the flag bearer of school boy rugby in the Northern Suburbs.

However, in recent times both Stellenberg and Brackenfell are making some waves, as they try to close the gap to the so-called big guns in the Western Cape.

Both schools have appointed quality coaches to lead the charge. Stellenberg’s head coach is Divan Batt, assisted by former provincial wing Giscard Pieters. Brackenfell’s head coach is the vastly experienced Philip Taylor, who is a former head coach of Paarl Gymnasium’s first XV. He is assisted by promising and up-and-coming Corné Kannemeyer.

Brackenfell is doing exceptionally well in the age group department as the Under-14, Under-15 and Under-16 teams all feature in the top 30 of the national rankings. This obviously bodes well for the future.

This match at Stellenberg produced some excellent play and both sides are to be complimented for their enterprise on attack. Although their defensive work definitely needs some tightening up, their positive play did produce a try fest (six to Stellenberg and four to Brackenfell).

This was a classical case of Stellenberg’s rampant pack of forwards, against the pace and flare of the visitors' quicksilver backs.

Stellenberg was solid in the set pieces up front and their driving play as well as mauling was also out of the top drawer. Add to this the unerring boot of WP Craven Week fullback, the talented Tiaan Swanepoel, who kept the scoreboard ticking over. Swanepoel contributed no fewer than 21 points, which included a well-taken try. Schalk Carstens (flyhalf) also showed some neat touches.

Stellenberg’s whole pack deserve credit for their endeavour. However, Matthew Boshoff (flank) was the stand out player with his tremendous work rate.

Brackenfell on the other hand, had to rely on scrappy ball, but their backs made full use of this. Elusive fullback Llewelynn Titus capped off a fine performance with a hat-trick of tries, using his dazzling foot work, to bamboozle the home team's defence. Lightening quick right wing Brandon Collins was always dangerous whenever he was put in possession.

Up front prop and captain Kabous Voges impressed with some powerfully ball carries. Arno Verster (scrumhalf) was also quick to pounce on the ball around the fringes, disrupting the Stellenberg rhythm.

At the end of the day Stellenberg fully deserved their victory, but Brackenfell can also feel satisfied with their effort of making a positive contribution to the match.

Scorers:

For Stellenberg:

Tries: Lance Jurgens 2, Juandré Vorster, Gustaf Engelbrecht, Nicholas Potgieter, Tiaan Swanepoel.

Cons: Swanepoel 5.

Pens: Swanepoel 2.

For Brackenfell:

Tries: Llewelynn Titus 3, Brandon Collins.

Cons: Rohan Conradie 2.

By Leon Kruger