In a rematch of last year's Virseker Noordvaal Cup final, Garsfontein defeated Helpmekaar Kollege 1stXV 49–24. The "Garsie Bere" were dominant throughout the second half, outplaying Helpmekaar with superior pace and interplay.
Both teams were reduced to 13 players during the match; however, Garsfontein scored two tries during Helpmekaar’s 13-man period, which eventually saw the collapse of the Helpmekaar dam wall.
Helpmekaar dominated the early part of the first half, helped by the ill-discipline by Garsfontein, and after twelve minutes of play, John van Druten sniped off the back of a maul three meters from the Garsfontein tryline to open the scoring. Ethan Kruger converted to extend Helpmekaar’s lead to 07-00.
Five minutes later, Joshua Gouws converted a penalty to cut Helpmekaar’s lead to 07-03.
Helpmekaar attacked from within their half and opted for a 5-meter lineout following another penalty against Garsfontein. Helpmekaar spread the ball wide from the lineout, and Xander van Niekerk pounced on his clever grubber to score Helpmekaar’s second try. Kruger converted to extend Helpmekaar’s lead to 14-03 after 26 minutes of play in the first half.
Garsfontein upped the pace of their attack and scored tries by Derik Potgieter and Drewyn Baron in quick succession to cut Helpmekaar’s lead to 14-13, and five minutes still to play in the first half.
Helpmekaar led 14-13 at halftime; however, cracks began to appear in Helpmekaar’s defence as Garsfontein upped the pace.
Garsfontein got their driving maul into gear, and Stefan van der Vyver scored off the back of a driving maul for Garsfontein to take the lead for the first time of the match after just three minutes of play in the second half.
Four minutes later, Garsfontein was awarded a penalty try to lead 25-14, whereafter Lourenz de Jager crashed over the Helpmekaar tryline following brilliant work and interplay by Yuvrah George and de Jager. Gouws converted to extend Garsfontein’s lead to 32-14.
With 20 minutes to play, Drewyn Baron slipped past several defenders to score another Garsfontein try, which was converted by Joshua Gouws to extend Garsfontein’s lead to 39-14, which was followed three minutes later by a gem of a try by Yuvrah George, extending Garsfontein’s lead to 46-14.
During the final 15 minutes of play, Helpmekaar scored tries by Zuan Krige and Daniel van der Linden while Garsfontein converted a penalty. Garsfontein was the well-deserved 49-24 winner.
Scorers:
Garsfontein 1stXV: Tries: Derik Potgieter, Drewyn Baron (2), Stefan van der Vyfer, penalty try, Lourenz de Jager, Yuvrah George. Conversions: Joshua Gouws (3). Penalties: Joshua Gouws (3).
Helpmekaar 1stXV: Tries: John van Druten, Xander van Niekerk, Zuan Krige, Daniel van der Linden. Conversions: Ethan Kruger (2).
Teams:
Garsfontein 1stXV: 1 Andre van Wyk, 2 Justin Blom, 3 Ruben Lombard, 4 JJ Fourie, 5 SW Potgieter, 6 Stefan van der Vyver, 7 Derik Potgieter, 8 Lourenz de Jager, 9 Dean Wilbers, 10 Joshua Gouws, 11 Neil de Kock, 12 Keagan Knighton, 13 Lemarc Henry, 14 Yuvrah George, 15 Drewyn Baron. Replacements: 16 Brendon Branford, 17 Matt Kleingeld, 18 Jeandré Tredoux, 19 JP Meintjes, 20 Francois van Niekerk, 21 Dian van Aswegen, 22 Eukan Meyers, 23 Ruan Fluks.
Helpmekaar 1stXV: 1 Daylan Ferreira, 2 Jeandre vd Merwe, 3 Karlo Steenkamp, 4 Diandro Botha, 5 MC van Tonder, 6 Llewelyn Vermaak, 7 Xander Jackson, 8 Ruan Bester, 9 John van Druten, 10 Shaye Lourens, 11 Zuan Krige, 12 Ethan Kruger, 13 Daniel Kelbrick, 14 Ruben Coetzee, 15 Xander van Niekerk. Replacements: 16 Daniël van den Linden, Sidney Nicholson, 18 Kyle Byleveldt, 19 Ruben Pieterse, 20 Eben van Buuren, 21 Dillo Dippenaar, 22 Rico Nel, 23 Jayden Brown.