Paarl Gim hosted Paul Roos in the Paarl as part of their annual fixtures list. The previous matches of both teams saw Paarl Gim beating Grey College and Paul Roos just losing against Garsfontein in the last minute of their match. The match in the Paarl was a very tight and bruising encounter which saw the lead on the scoreboard changing hands throughout the match. Paarl Gim however relinquished a 15 point lead in the second half due to a brilliant comeback by Paul Roos who beat them 26-24.
The match started with Paul Roos botching the kickoff but thereafter managed to force Gim into their quarter with strong forward and backline carries from where they repeatedly attacked the Gim try line. The solid Gim defence however held up conceding a penalty which Paul Roos kicked for 3 points to open their scoring tally 03-00.
Gim managed to get their first attacking play going after 8 minutes in the half, however, a handling error stopped their good momentum buildup giving a scrum to Paul Roos who won the ball and attacked the outside gaining good ground into the Gim quarter but a penalty conceded gave Gim an easy exit.
Gim who was struggling to get their play going and who did not look as sharp as usual, found themselves defending in their quarter conceding penalties which allowed Paul Roos to kick another 3 points to increase their lead to 6-0 with 15 min left in the half. Gim managed to get their hands on the ball and started some good attacking play but Paul Roos turned the ball over by holding up a maul.
With 18 minutes left in the half Gim started strong attacking phase play on the Paul Roos try line with Paul Roos defending like maniacs preventing Gim from scoring. However, with 9 minutes left Gim kicked for a penalty lineout 5 metres from the Paul Roos try line and again relentlessly attacked the Paul Roos try line to score a converted try, taking the lead on the scoreboard 06-07.
With 9 minutes left in the half Paul Roos turned the ball over at a tackle and Gim found themselves defending in their quarter, however, they absorbed the pressure and played themselves out of trouble with strong driving tackles driving Paul Roos back.
With 3 minutes left in the half Gim conceded a penalty inside their half, which Paul Roos opted to kick to retake the lead 9-7. Gim soon thereafter broke the Paul Roos defence and ran upfield to attack the Paul Roos try line, however, another handling error spoiled another scoring opportunity for Gim. The halftime score was 09-07 in favour of Paul Roos.
The second half started with Gim playing into the Pual Roos quarter after the scrum-half broke a few tackles and sprinted upfield. Gim however conceded an unnecessary penalty on the attack allowing Paul Roos to play themselves out of trouble.
Gim soon attacked back into the Paul Roos quarter where they launched a strong driving maul from a penalty lineout. The Paul Roos prop was given a yellow card after repeated infringements and Gim launched another driving maul from where they scored a try to retake the lead 09-12 very early in the half.
With 22 minutes left in the match, Gim scored another strong driving maul try from a penalty lineout to increase their lead 17-9. They soon thereafter scored another good try with a blitzkrieg attack in the Paul Roos Gim quarter, which was converted to take their score to a comfortable 9-24 lead. Paul Roos at this stage looked haggard with Gim increasing the match tempo.
Paul Roos however refused to lie down and managed to attack into the Gim quarter where they scored a try after taking a quick tap penalty and catching Gim unawares to take their score to 14-24 with 13 minutes left in the match.
Gim continued to concede penalties under pressure and with 11 minutes left to play the Gim 8th man was yellow-carded after collapsing the driving maul. Paul Roos used the extra player opportunity and scored a try after good attacking play to close the scoreline gap to 19-24.
With 4 minutes left in the match, Paul Roos managed to intercept the ball and scored a try which was converted to retake the lead 26-24.
Gim managed to get possession in the last minute of the match and made a last-ditch effort to attack the Paul Roos try line, however, the ball was lost forward in a tackle and Paul Roos kicked it out and deservedly won the match 26-24.
Scorers:
Paarl Gim: Tries: Johandre van Niekerk, Waldo Hanekom (2), Thyron Ross. Conversions: PA van Niekerk, Kyle Smith.
Paul Roos: Tries: Wilber Loubser, Jurenzo Julius, Herman Lourens. Conversions: Christoff de Bruin. Penalties: Christoff de Bruin (3).
Teams:
Paarl Gim: 15. Johandre van Niekerk, 14. Enzo Labuschagne, 13. Janeil Losper, 12. PA van Niekerk (C) 11. Thyron Ross, 10. Kyle Smith, 9. Emrique Liedeman, 8. Louw du Toit, 7. Dean Crouse, 6. Willie de Waal, 5. Keanu Coetsee, 4. Danio Botha, 3. Bernard Bladergroen, 2. Waldo Hanekom, 1. Jean Fourie.
Paul Roos: 15. Christoff de Bruyn, 14. Luke Graham, 13. Jurenzo Julius, 12. Philip Groenewald, 11. Christiaan Brandt, 10. Reuben Noble, 9. Liam Stander, 8. Wyatt Strydom, 7. Herman Lourens (C) , 6. Andreas Oosthuizen, 5. Sampie Joubert, 4. Danile Marais, 3. Reno Hirst, 2. Seth Haddad, 1. Wilbur Loubser.
Article by Francois du Toit
