Affies hosted KES in Pretoria this past Saturday for their second last match of the season. The match was expected to be a tight affair after Affies narrowly beat KES 15-11 at their home ground in Johannesburg earlier in the season. A very passionate and determined KES team managed to even the season tally by beating Affies 18-10.
The first half ultimately belonged to KES who dominated possession and territory, despite a strong start by Affies. KES however absorbed the initial pressure with spirited defence and kept Affies pinned in their half most of the time due to having the wind from behind. The KES defense forced Affies to commit mistakes and they struggled to get momentum going in their game. The halftime score was 8-0 in favour of KES who scored a penalty and an unconverted try.
The second half belonged to Affies who dominated the scrums, possession and territory. They managed to take the lead 10-8 very early in the second half with a converted try and penalty. Affies in turn kept KES pinned in their half, however poor execution by Affies coupled with their inability to capitalise on scoring opportunities, kept KES in the match and in the hunt. KES never relented and managed to score another two unconverted tries by exploiting Affies’ lack of speed out wide to win the match 18-10.
Affies will surely want to lift their game for their annual derby and last match of the season against Pretoria Boys High School next Saturday, where passion will also be one of the deciding factors in a match which is expected to also be a very close encounter, as PBHS narrowly lost to KES 27-24.
02:10 KES opened their scoring tally very early in the match after flyhalf Bronson Mills took a successful penalty kick which was awarded to KES after offside play by Affies on defence in their half (3-0).
23:52 KES increased their score after lock Kai Merzbacher scored a try from quick phase play after the ball was played wide in the Affies half, which stretched the Affies defence. The conversion kick was unsuccessful (8-0).
38:10 Affies finally managed to get onto the scoreboard early in the second half with a try. The ball bounced back into the KES quarter off the upright from a penalty kick attempt by Affies. A KES player collected the ball and tried to kick it out, however it remained in the field from where Affies centre Ruvan Loock collected the ball and scored. Converted by Heymans (8-7).
41:10 Affies took the lead on the scoreboard after flyhalf Heymans managed a successful penalty kick from the midfield line, which was awarded to Affies after a powerful scrum (8-10).
53:10 KES regained the lead on the scoreboard with another unconverted try. KES centre Jake Brittan made a good break through the Affies defensive line to finally get KES out of their half and on attack close to the Affies try line, from where the ball was played through some attacking phases resulting in a try (13-10).
57:10 KES increased their lead with their final try of the match. They managed to get turnover ball after a strong defensive tackle on an Affies player in the Affies half. They quickly played the ball wide after spotting a gap in the Affies defence from where KES winger Kabelo Tekane scored the try. The conversion kick was unsuccessful (18-10).
Teams:
Affies: 15. J.L. van Rensburg; 14. A. Joubert; 13. R. Loock; 12. P. Rossouw; 11. Q. Nortje; 10. S. Heymans; 9. L. Horn; 8. D. Smith; 7. T. Muller; 6. D. Oosthuizen; 5. V. Grotius; 4. L. de Lange; 3. S. de Bruin; 2. D. Marais; 1. M. Ferreira. Replacements: 16. A. Smith; 17. M. Kohler; 18. T.Loretz; 19. E. Jooste; 20. B. Roos; 21. J. Potgieter; 22. R. Gerber; 23. J. Masilela.
KES: 15. K. Mpeku; 14. C. Andrews; 13. K. Letebele; 12. J. Brittan; 11. M. Tekane; 10. B. Mills; 9. L. Rowan; 8. K. Motlhale; 7. T. Mphafi; 6. B. Shazi; 5. K. Merzbacher; 4. A. Magadla; 3. L. Selahla; 2. J. Dullisear; 1. T. Draper. Replacements: 16. R. Lane; 17. C. Hirschowitz; 18. K. Motlhajwe; 19. S. Klinkert ; 20. H. Njteni 21. K Molefe; 22. B. Jackson; 23. K. Mehlomakulu.
Other Scores:
Affies II 13-10 KES II
Affies III 55-0 KES III
Affies 16A 34-5 KES 16A
Affies 16B 47-14 KES 16B
Affies 16C 22-0 KES 16C
Affies 15A 31-24 KES 15A
Affies 15B 14-17 KES 15B
Affies 15C 29-0 KES 15C
Affies 15D 25-0 KES 15D
Article by Francois du Toit