Despite showing glimpses of enterprising passages of play, the Tel Aviv Heat went down 47-10 to the Naka Bulls in Pretoria on Wednesday night. (Halftime score 19-5)
A chilly evening in Pretoria welcomed teams as the Tel Aviv Heat faced the Naka Bulls in their second batch of matches, on their historic tour to South Africa.
Much of the opening 15 minutes was evenly poised, it was, however, the home side who broke the deadlock when midfielder Johan Grobler crashed over from close range, this score was followed with two quick tries in succession. Front rowers Marius Stander and Primo Ncube getting rewarded with the second and third five-pointers for the home side, respectively, flyhalf Danny Mokoabane succeeded with two of his three conversion attempts, 19-0 to the Naka Bulls as the first half approached the final ten minutes.
Tel Aviv Heat pivot Francois Myberg drove the Naka Bulls back into their own half at regular intervals but the clinical defensive display from the home side restricted the elusive Heat backs from running rampant. Players like Xolisa Guma and Namibia International Lesley Klim tested the Naka Bulls' defence.
Errors at crucial moments in the first half meant the visitors could not build sufficient momentum to get over the whitewash. The Tel Aviv Heat eventually got on the scoreboard when Guma crossed the try line, the conversion attempt went wide, 19-5.
As the final five minutes of the opening half approached both sides were making a handful of unforced errors and subsequently could not add any additional points to their side of the scoreline, 19-5 it remained as the players headed into the halftime break.
Tel Aviv Heat drew first blood in the second stanza, when Guma cantered over for the visitors' and his second try of the match, replacement flyhalf Johan Du Preez missing the conversion, 19-10. The try was as a result of some enterprising play from the visiting side, applying constant pressure on the Naka Bulls, forcing the home team to make errors at promising attacking moments.
Naka Bulls hit back almost immediately when a well-worked backline move paid off, with Grobler completing his brace when he showed a clean pair of heels running nearly 60 metres to dot down under the crossbar, Mokoabane adding the extras, 26-10, as the final quarter of the match approached.
One too many unforced errors from the visiting Tel Aviv Heat side hampered them significantly as they got to within metres of the Naka Bulls' try line. It was, however, the exact opposite for the home team as they managed to convert the territory and possession into two converted tries. First, one was scored when number eight JP Alberts ghosted the defenders and dotted down for the Naka Bulls' fifth try of the evening, Mokoabane adding the extras, 33-10. Replacement hooker Henrique De Sousa Neves getting his name added to the scorers when he collected the ball at the back of a rolling maul, Mokoabane's attempt hit the upright, but the ball crossed the crossbar, 40-10.
To add insult to injury, the Naka Bulls were awarded a penalty try with time on the stadium clock running into minute 82. Final score Naka Bulls 47-10 Tel Aviv Heat
Scorers:
Naka Bulle: Tries: Johan Grobler (2), Marius Stander, Primo Ncube, JP Alberts, Henrique De Sousa Neves (???), Penalty try
Conversions: Danny Mokoabane (5)
Tel Aviv Heat Blues: Tries: Xolisa Guma (2)
Teams:
Naka Bulls: 15 Sean Grobler, 14 Brandon Swart, 13 Johan Grobler (v/c), 12 Charles Goedhals, 11 Marcell Human, 10 Danny Mokoabane, 9 Jack Hart, 8 JP Alberts, 7 Human Bodenstein, 6 Eckard Boshoff, 5 Stephan Vermeulen, 4 Brendan Verster, 3 Primo Ncube, 2 Marius Stander, 1 Ruan Grundelingh (capt). Replacements: 16 Henrique De Sousa Neves, 17 Nico du Plessis, 18 Madot Mabekela, 19 Juan van der Westhuizen, 20 Ruhan Viviers, 21 Antonio Jantjies, 22 Marco Donges, 23 Christoff Craill, 24 Nardus Erasmus
Tel Aviv Heat Blues: 15 Rethabile Mzamo, 14 Xolisa Guma, 13 Lesley Klim, 12 Divan Enslin, 11 Stewi Gantsho, 10 Francois Myberg, 9 Omer Levinson, 8 Peter Driegard, 7 Prince Gaoseb (capt), 6 Tristen Du Preez, 5 Clayton Martin, 4 Tyler Brown, 3 Connie Campher, 2 Mcmillan Muller, 1 Thabiso Mdletshe. Replacements: 16 Obert Norje, 17 Jared Sichel, 18 Justin Theys, 19 Ethan Jeffery, 20 Brad Van Niekerk, 21 Rubin Ricco, 22 Johan Du Preez, 23 Misha Eli, 24 Yotam Shulman, 25 Thomas Berman, 26 Renaldo Bothma, 27 Yiftach Engel, 28 Bradley Thain, 29 Marc Morrison, 30 Gabriel Ibitoye, 31 Courtney Wiernaar, 32 Sebastiaan Jobb, 33 Idan Eisenberg
