Boland edge blundering Valke
7 Sep 2007
Superb defence saw Boland secure a narrow 24-20 win over the Valke in Wellington.
The Valke camped in the Boland half for 30 minutes of the second half but failed to make any inroads. However, It has to be noted that the Valke spurned numerous scoring chances due to poor basic skills.
The Valke established an early 10-point lead through a penalty, and try from Charl McLeod. The scrumhalf will owe flyhalf Riaan Viljoen a post-match beer, as it was his linebreak on first phase that resulted in the five pointer.
Jongi Nokwe had an opportunity to close the gap two minutes later but knocked on after a chip ahead. The winger did however make amends shortly thereafter, rounding off a move that was birthed on the Boland 10m line. The ball went through a dozen sets of hands before Henley du Plessis committed two defenders and offloaded to Nokwe.
The try should have given Boland the impetus, but instead they were forced to defend their line after lock Niekkie Viljoen earned himself 10 minutes in the bin for a high tackle. The Valke failed to capitalise, their attacking prowess looking every bit like that of the bottom placed side they are.
With their full compliment restored, the hosts went into a 12-10 lead through a wonderfully crafted try. They punched up the short side twice and a simple inside pass to du Plessis wrong footed the cover defence and saw the captain sprint through.
But both sides were finding it incredibly difficult to hold on to possession through more than four phases and ultimately had to rely on opposition errors for their scoring opportunities.
A midfield handling error by Boland saw Valke winger Mpho Matsaung punt ahead and chase successfully. The Brakpan boys extended their lead via a drop goal by Viljoen but undid that work when they fell off tackles allowing Boland to draw within a point (20-19) just before half-time.
Boland’s task was complicated when Antonius Verhoeven was yellow carded immediately after the restart, but again the visitors couldn’t take advantage. Instead Boland secured the bonus-point, Van Heerden breaking off a lineout drive and powering over.
The Valke upped their intensity and dominated territory and possession. Yet for all their endeavour they rarely looked like piercing Boland’s defence and walk away with just one point.
Boland – Tries: Jongi Nokwe, Henley du Plessis (2), Dries van Schalkwyk. Conversions: Isma-eel Dollie (2)
Valke – Tries: Charl McLeod, Mpho Matsaung Conversions: Jacques Schutte (2), Penalty: Schutte, Drop goal: Riaan Viljoen
3 Comments
7 Sep 2007, 19:30 pm
Mooi my bure !!! dis mooi
7 Sep 2007, 19:41 pm
Boland secure a narrow 24-20 , should have been more , Can’t believe boland play with one regonise kicker in there team. Rassie don’t even think of using Dollie as ‘n kicking flyhalf. Still a lot of work with that guy , not saying his a bad player but his kicking is up to no good.
8 Sep 2007, 10:21 am
This Charl McLeod has really impressed me, he’s a feisty little one.
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.