Affies hosted Paarl Gim “op die plaas” in Pretoria for their annual interschools derby on a warm and dry afternoon. The much-awaited 1stVI match between the favourites Paarl Gim, ranked No 2 and Affies ranked No 9, was a titanic battle and did not disappoint. Just when it seemed that Paarl Gim had the game in the bag, a very determined and on fire Affies launched a brilliant comeback in the second half to beat Paarl Gim 29-26.
Much has been said about the decline of Affies rugby as one of the top rugby schools in the country due to them slipping down the rankings the past few years from the top 5 where their name used to appear on a regular basis. This problem was fortunately addressed with the appointment of Ryno van der Merwe as Head of Rugby two years ago, which was a welcome change in the previous policy of the school to not appoint rugby professionals from the outside.
Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic severely disrupted the previous two schoolboy rugby seasons with no or little rugby being played. This also negatively affected the expected improvement in Affie rugby by the Affie supporters. The changes in the coaching staff appointments made by the new Head of Rugby this season, which included the appointment of a new and young 1stVI coach, ex Witbul Ruan Jacobs, were also not welcomed by some Affie supporters.
However, the Affie 1stVI has shown great improvement thus far from the previous seasons, despite blowing hot and cold in their performances ranging from brilliant wins against Paul Roos and Paarl Gim to a near loss to Garsfontein. Affie supporters will undoubtedly expect them to continue to improve in their performance. Unfortunately, the disrupting impact of the previous two years has hampered the depth and strength of the rest of the u/19 player group if judged by the u/19B, D and E team losses against Paarl Gim.
But judging the rest of the results against Paarl Gim where Affies won 10 of the 11 remaining matches, including the u/14A, u/15A and u/16A matches, the very positive impact is evident that Ryno van der Merwe and his coaching staff are having on the improvement and development of the teams coming up the ranks, which bodes very well for the future of Affie rugby.
The 1stVI match started with both teams using tactical kicking to keep each other pinned in their halves. Affies eventually forced Gim into their half and won a penalty which they kicked to open the scoring tally 3-0. Gim responded from the restart by pressuring Affies with good attacking play in their quarter scoring a converted try to take the score to 3-7. Affies then forced Gim back into their half and won a scrum penalty but missed the kick to the uprights.
With 16 minutes left in the half, Affies played into the Gim quarter with a penalty lineout capitalising on errors committed by Gim. They then attacked the Gim try line which led to another penalty lineout from where they scored a converted try with powerful forward play retaking the lead on the scoreboard 10-7.
Affies kept Gim pinned in their half for another 5 minutes with good attacking rugby but conceded a penalty which gave Gim some breathing space for a brief period. However, a slipped tackle by Affies on the Gim fullback in the Gim half allowed him to race down the line and pass to a supporting player who scored a try against the run of play placing Gim back in the lead 10-12.
Affies who by now had the territorial advantage was soon attacking in Gim’s half again but a good counter ruck by Gim turned the ball over and gave them the opportunity to attack into the Affies half, where they beat the Affies defence out wide and scored another converted try increasing their lead to 10-19 which was the halftime score.
The second half started with Affies attacking into Gim’s quarter from a turnover ball won and nearly scoring a try with extra numbers in the backline, however poor execution by Affies and solid defence by Gim prevented Affies from scoring.
Gim absorbed the pressure and played out of their half and got a penalty lineout 5 metres from the Affie try line giving them an attacking opportunity for the first time in the half. From the penalty lineout, they scored a very clinical, well-worked and powerful driving maul try in typical Gim fashion. The try was converted, extending Gim’s lead to 10-26 and with a 16 point cushion, it seemed that Gim was going to take this match.
With 18 minutes left in the half Gim started to get more possession and territory and attacked the Affies try line with another penalty lineout driving maul. However, Affies turned the ball over with brilliant defence and kicked the ball out just inside the Gim quarter.
The turning point in the match came when Gim decided to take a quick throw-in and the Gim player was isolated by the Affies inside Gim’s quarter which led to a penalty given against Gim. Affies kicked for the line and got a lineout 5 metres from the try line from where they scored another driving maul try which was converted to close the scoreline gap to 17-26.
There was now a momentum shift in the match in favour of Affies who increased the match tempo and their pressure play forced Gim to concede a number of penalties. The Affies' rush defence also smothered the dangerous Gim backline and prevented Gim from building any more good momentum.
Affies got another penalty line out 5 metres from the Gim try line after the restart of play and scored another brilliant driving maul try to further close the scoreline gap to 22-26. The usual rock-solid defence by Paarl Gim was unable to counter the Affie mauls.
Affies was now on fire and again forced Gim back into their half from where they got another penalty lineout close to the Gim try line. They launched another driving maul and scored another converted try with powerful forward play, retaking the lead at 29-26 with 5 minutes left in the match.
However, with 3 minutes left in the match, Affies who just had to maintain possession of the ball lost their lineout giving Gim the possession who immediately attacked into the Affies half where they forced Affies to concede a number of penalties and to defend like maniacs. Gim elected not to go for the draw with a penalty kick but to kick for a penalty lineout from where they launched a driving maul which Affies managed to counter.
Gim was then awarded another penalty which they opted to quick tap and drive rather than drive from a penalty lineout. They managed to get over the try line but the ball was held up by the brilliant Affies defence and with no time left on the clock, the final whistle gave Affies a well-deserved and very significant victory, especially for the new head of rugby and the coaching staff - a victory and upset which will be spoken of for many years to come.
Scorers:
Affies: Tries: Hanro Venter (3), Jack Marits. Conversions: Stiaan Heymans (3). Penalty: Stiaan Heymans
Paarl Gim: Tries: PA van Niekerk, Johandré van Niekerk, Shaun Ray, Danio Botha. Conversions: Liam Koen (3)
Teams:
Affies 1st XV: 15. Migael De Lange, 14. Stephan Brits, 13. Tiaan De Wet, 12. Heinrich Horn, 11. Marx Nel, 10. Stiaan Heymans (c), 9. Armand Shahia, 8. Beyers Roos, 7. Dieter Schubert, 6. Ewan van Heerden, 5. Andreas Burger, 4. Erick Jooste, 3. Zack Marirtz, 2. Hanro Venter, 1. Luchan Mouton.
Paarl Gim 1st XV: 15. Shaun Ray, 14. Enzo Labuschagne, 13. Janeil Losper, 12. PA van Niekerk (c), 11. Johandré van Niekerk, 10. Liam Koen, 9. Emrique Liedeman, 8. Dean Crouse, 7. Keanu Coutsee, 6. Willie de Waal, 5. Danio Botha, 4. Slabbert Maartens, 3. Bernard Bladergroen, 2. Luca Bakkes, 1. Jean Fourie.
Article by Francois du Toit