Namies competitive against Allies in ‘Battle of Alberton’
If anybody thought that schoolboy rugby was boring, then this day would have proved them wrong.
IT was a battle from the start till finish between Namies and Allies on May 11 at Hoërskool Dinamika for the 25th derby game between these two schools.
Both teams can be proud of their performances, although some of the games were not the best rugby purely due to the passion and intensity of the game.
The day started with the u-14 side.
They are a very young and inexperienced team, but they have no limit on the guts and determination side.
While in their attack they seemed unsure of themselves. I haven’t seen defending from a team like this for a long time.
The game started with Namies’ turning of the ball and hacking it through into the dead ball area. The Allies cover defence unfortunately ground the ball in time just before the Namies player was about to dive to dot it down.
From there on the territory and possession was dominated by Alberton. But boy, the Namies boys defended.
Allies launched wave after wave of attack, but couldn’t break through. The discipline on defence was also superb and I must say that for all the defending they had to do, they never once played negative or intentionally killed the ball.
Their team spirit was great to see too and although it was never likely that they would emerge victorious, they are winners in my mind.
They eventually gave away two tries and a conversion. The tries were both scored after the ball went wide to the wings. The final score was 12-0, but the guys did their school very proud and will certainly be able to build from here.
Namies stood their ground
Next up were the second team and here again Namies really stood their ground and were competitive from the first whistle.
Although Allies scored first, the Namies boys stuck to their task well and scored tries of their own through Jaiden Daniels and Dewald Pretorious, as well as a penalty from Jacques Le Roux.
It was hard and physical and it was quite noticeable that the Namies forwards had surprised Allies in their physicality.
The last few minutes was nail-biting stuff as Namies took the bit between their teeth after scoring the second try to reduce the deficit to 19-13. They threw everything into attack, but were unlucky at times. All in all, it was a really good performance and one which their school can be proud of.
Allies scored three tries through Ashley Saunders, Ethan Tolmay and Jean Dean Prinsloo and Saunders added two conversions.
Watch this space for reports on the u-15, u-16 and first team.
