Garsfontein hosted Jeppe in a pre-season match at the Berepark in Pretoria on Wednesday. It was a hard-fought battle in which the Garsie Bere managed to fight off a three consecutive try comeback by Jeppe in the second half to beat them 28-24.
Garsfontein fired the first shot early in the match with a driving maul try from a penalty lineout close to the Jeppe try line. The successful conversion gave them a 07-00 lead. Garsfontein made their intentions to use their big pack of forwards clear with strong forward play around the breakdowns.
Jeppe, however, absorbed the pressure with good defence. They scored a converted try of their own from a quick tap penalty taken close to the Garsfontein try line, which levelled the score 07-07. They then launched some good attacking runs from the restart of play.
The Garsfontein defence in turn held firm and they soon attacked the Jeppe try line again with more strong forward-driving play. However, they could not convert their efforts into points due to errors at crucial times, which were forced by a strong Jeppe defence.
Both teams then made several handling errors and conceded several penalties, which caused the possession to constantly change hands. Neither team was able to make any good attacking yardage for a while.
Garsfontein managed to break the deadlock when they launched a clever chip kick through from the midfield, which was chased down by a Garsfontein and Jeppe player. Garsfontein was awarded a penalty try after the Jeppe player pushed the chasing Garsfontein player while he was trying to dot down the ball behind the try line.
The score was 14-07 in favour of Garsfontein at halftime.
Garsfontein scored their third converted try early in the second half after chasing down another good chip kick, which extended their lead to 21-07. Jeppe replied with a try of their own soon thereafter, when they played the ball wide from a quick tap penalty on the Garsfontein try line. This closed the scoreline gap to 21-12.
Garsfontein conceded several penalties which opened the door for Jeppe who then attacked the Garsfontein try line and scored another try. The successful conversion closed the scoreline gap to only a 2-point difference of 21-19.
Jeppe, who were now well in the hunt, attacked into the Garsfontein quarter from where they scored another unanswered try after a Jeppe player broke from a scrum close to the Garsfontein try line. This was their third consecutive try in the second half, giving them the lead for the first time in the match at 21-24.
Garsfontein, feeling the pressure, lifted their game and started to pin Jeppe in their half. Consistent pressure play by Garsfontein allowed them to score a good driving maul try to retake the lead at 28-24 with a few minutes left to play.
Jeppe, however, refused to lie down and attacked the Garsfontein try line during the last minute of the match. They came close to scoring the winning try, however, the resolute Garsfontein defence held up to give them the 28-24 victory.
Article by Francois du Toit