Vishuis simply too strong
Steinhoff Villagers' (Pukke) hopes of making the final of the 2010 Steinhoff Koshuisliga were well and truly shattered on Monday night when they got smashed 57-3 by a rampant Steinhoff Vishuis (Shimlas).
On this performance, Steinhoff Vishuis will be difficult to contain in next week's final against Dagbreek - from Maties - in Stellenbosch; of course, it is the second year running that a hostel from Kovsies has qualified for the final.
It was a clinical performance by Vishuis and it took them only seconds into the match to score their first - through No.8 Gerhard Meyer - of eight tries.
Their second five-pointer came via a nice orchestrated backline move from a five-metre scrum. The ball went through the hands and fullback AJ Coetzer, who joined the attack, scored in the left-hand corner.
Meyer scored his second shortly afterwards and Vishuis' intentions were clear when they had a change to stretch their lead up to 20-0 when they were awarded a penalty right in front of the posts.
But their alert scrumhalf, Enrico Acker, opted to play quickly which led to Coetzer's second try. Beyers Louw, who once again had a good night with the boot - succeeding with eight out of ten kicks at goal, converted to hand the home team a commanding 24-0 lead.
Apart from a few phases in Vishuis' 22m in the first ten minutes, Villagers seldom had any real scoring opportunities, as the hosts dominated territory and the game was all but wrapped up in the 30th minute when Meyer scored Vishuis's fourth try. Louw's conversion made it 31-0 and the visitors' heads started to drop.
Villagers had a chance to open their account right before half-time, but Botha's second miss ended a rather disappointing first half for the students from Potchefstroom - the selfsame Botha then making amends seconds after the break with a successful penalty kick.
And just when it looked as if Vishuis could run away with matters, Meyer got sent to the sin bin for stamping on an opponent. This, however, did not have an influence on the scoreboard - but it did offer Villagers the majority of possession.
The visitors, however, were to sloppy in their play; with a lot of passes not going to hand. But Vishuis deserve some credit for their aggressive defence.
The winning team looked extremely dangerous throughout when they were given continuity in attack, but they turned the ball over too often to challenge the scoreboard...
The scorers:
For Steinhoff Vishuis:
Tries: Meyer 2, Coertzen 2, Landman, Louw, Jacobs, Van Zyl
Cons: Louw 7
Pen: Louw
For Steinhoff Villagers:
Pen: Botha
The teams:
Vishuis: 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Bennie Pretorius, 13 Barend Landman, 12 Francios van Straaten, 11 Beyers Louw, 10 Willem Conradie, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Gerhard Meyer, 7 Jos de Klerk (captain), 6 Ryno Fourie, 5 Jaco Lamprecht, 4 William Clift, 3 JP van Rooyen, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Cobus van der Westhuizen.
Replacements: 16 Richard Harris, 17 Milo Moholo 18 JC Astle, 19 Eben van Zyl, 20 Erick Colyn, 21 Skillie Fransman, 22 Cameron Jacobs.
Villagers: 15 Jeandré Small, 14 Kevin Thompson, 13 Dirk Fourie, 12 Wally Dreyer, 11 Johan de Kock, 10 WD Botha, 9 JD Joubert, 8 Dan Bensusan, 7 Thys Ellis, 6 Bernie van Rooyen, 5 Jan Breedt, 4 Albert Sorgdrager (captain), 3 Sarel van Rensburg, 2 Wessel van der Merwe, 1 Conrad Lombaard.
Replacements: 16 Ferdie Nieman, 17 Dylan Herbert, 18 Pelser Uys, 19 Tielman Roos, 20 Francois Wolfaardt, 21 Divan Vosloo, 22 George Bensusan.
By Ruan Bruwer