Day 3 of the NMI Noord/Suid Tournament kicked off with the North in the overall lead. Very light rain during the evening before moistened the pitch somewhat, however, the conditions were warm and good for more exciting rugby. The players' enthusiasm was evident, especially from the schools which took on the big-name schools. Matches were played as if it was their last and the spectators were not disappointed.
Fixtures
Grey College 37-24 Maritzburg College
Maritzburg started the match on the attack testing the Grey defence, however, Grey turned over the ball and forced Maritzburg back into their quarter. Grey recycled the ball and scored a converted try after beating the Maritzburg defence out wide with pace, which opened the scoring tally 07-00. Maritzburg immediately responded by forcing Grey into their quarter where they launched numerous attacking phases. They were awarded a try after they beat the scrambling Grey defence with quick-footed and elusive running, opening their scoring tally 07-05. Maritzburg then played all the rugby and kept Grey pinned in their half and on the defence for the next 20 minutes until they scored another try to take the lead at 10-07. Grey soon countered with a powerful driving maul try to retake the lead 12-10. Maritzburg then received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. They managed to win a Grey lineout and again beat the Grey defence with pace and elusive running out wide, to score a converted try in the same corner as before. Grey again immediately responded by breaking through the mid-field and scoring a converted try. The score was 19-17 in favour of Grey at halftime.
Grey started the second half lifting their game and scored a well-worked try within the first two minutes to increase their lead 24-17. They soon followed it up with a strong driving maul try. Maritzburg absorbed the onslaught and scored a converted try under the posts after strong forward play. This closed the scoreline gap to 29-24. The arm wrestle continued until Grey kicked a penalty to increase their lead to 32-24 with 14 minutes left to play. They increased their lead to 37-24 with a driving maul try with 10 minutes left to play. The arm wrestle again continued from there until the final whistle seeing Grey as the victor with 37-24.
KES 19-49 Paarl Gim
Paarl Gim started the game off playing their "normal" gameplan combining brilliant interplay with a clinical and direct gameplan to score the opening try within the first three minutes of the match to lead 07-00. The second try followed minutes later from a 5m lineout maul whereafter it became evident that it will be a long afternoon for KES. Although KES started to claw their way "sort of" back into the game Paarl Gim scored an extra two tries to lead 28-00 with 5 minutes to play. KES's pack of forwards forced a penalty which resulted in a try from a 5m lineout-maul.
Although Paarl Gim led 28-07 at the halftime break KES looked like a new team since their first try with a momentum shift in favour of KES very evident.
Paarl Gim scored a long-distance try after 10 minutes of play in the second half, however, KES absorbed a lot of pressure and although being down to 14 men replied almost immediately with a try of their own to trail 12-35 and 20 minutes to play. KES continued to apply pressure and scored their 3rd try three minutes later to trail 19-35, the momentum shift in favour of KES was very evident at that stage as the boys in red were relentless when piling on the pressure.
Paarl Gim scored two converted tries during the last 5 minutes to win 49-19 which is not a true reflection of KES's efforts during the second half.
Nelspruit 07-35 Durban High School
DHS was the first to stamp their mark on the match when they kicked a penalty early in the half taking a 03-00 lead. DHS with the heavier pack of forwards soon forced Nelspruit into their half again where they kicked another penalty to increase their lead to 06-00. Nelspruit used some tactical kicks to turn DHS and gain territory but was unable to score when they were in their half. DHS attacked into Nelspruit's quarter where they scored a good converted try with quick forward driving play, from a penalty to increase their lead to 13-00. DHS refused to lie down and worked their way into the DHS quarter, where they launched relentless attacking runs on the DHS try line. They were rewarded for their efforts with a converted try to open their scoring tally 13-07. DHS responded with a penalty kick in the Nelspruit quarter to take the half-time score to 16-07.
Nelspruit had DHS on the back foot and defending in their half for the first 7 minutes of the half. DHS however, scored a converted try against the run of play when they collected the ball and sprinted down the sideline beating the Nelspruit defence. With DHS 23-07 in the lead, Nelspruit fought back and came close to the DHS try line, but they turned the ball over due to very good defence by DHS. This allowed DHS to play out of their half and they scored another converted try against the run of play when they collected a clever chip kick and scored under the posts. This increased their lead to a comfortable 28-07. DHS then went into attacking mode and the Nelspruit defence could not keep up, which allowed DHS to score another converted try. Nelspruit did not give up and continued to challenge the DHS defence, however, DHS comfortably won the match 35-07.
Waterkloof 32-28 Glenwood
Both sides showed early that they were going to spread the ball wide whenever the opportunity presents itself, Five minutes of ad action ended with Glenwood converting a penalty to take an early lead. Glenwood attacked from deep within their own half to score in the corner on the other side of the pitch and led 10-00 after ten minutes of play. Waterkloof replied with a try after 15 minutes of play in the first half in this exciting ding-dong battle. Unfortunately the match "degraded" in a free for all with defence optional during the last 15 minutes of the first half with the teams going into the halftime break with the scores even at 15-15.
Glenwood added a converted penalty and try to their account and led 25-15 after 10 minutes of play in the second half. Waterkloof added some structure to their game plan and scored three tries during the last 20 minutes to win 34-28 after an "exciting" game.
EG Jansen 23-22 Drostdy HTS
Drostdy HTS had a point to prove after a narrow 19-22 loss against Waterkloof, whilst EG Jansen wanted to notch up another win after beating Welkom Gimnasium 19-13 during Day 1.
Drostdy indeed drew first blood and a 03-00 lead with an early penalty kick. EG Jansen methodically forced Drostdy into their quarter where they were awarded a penalty. EG Jansen kicked the penalty to equal the score 03-03. Drostdy, in turn, attacked into EG Jansen's quarter and came close to scoring, however, the defence held up. EG Jansen then started to run the ball up with their bigger forwards before playing the ball wide to try and beat the Drostdy defence. Drostdy, however, had the same tactic in mind. The match settled into a midfield arm wrestle. EG Jansen broke the stalemate when they scored a well-worked try to take a 08-03 lead. Their lead was, however, short-lived when Drostdy scored a converted try to retake the lead at 10-08. EG Jansen had the last say in the half when they scored a converted try. The halftime score was 15-10 in favour of EG Jansen.
The possession and territory constantly changed hands for the first 8 minutes of the second half. Errors committed by both sides spoiled some scoring opportunities. Drostdy made ground with some direct running lines. They intercepted a pass and scored a converted try to retake the lead 17-15. The lead again changed hands when EG Jansen kicked a penalty kick in front of the Drostdy posts. They then increased their lead to 23-17 after they scored a converted try when they broke through the midfield defence. Drostdy replied with a try of their own when they beat the defence out wide with good speed and handling. However, EG Jansen hung on to the 1-point score difference to win the match 23-22.
