By Chesley Daniels
A brilliant all-round Man of the Match performance by Swallows 1st XV captain Jason Potgieter led his side to a famous 17-10 win against Klipfontein United of Ndlambe in their EPRU SEDRU Regional League Fixture on 22 April.
Swallows of Makhanda went in to the “Never Loose Stadium” in Klipfontein as the underdogs and came out victorious, and drove back home with four log points. The Birds stunned and surprised the United side in their own backyard with its intimidating crowd, whilst also taking sweet revenge for their heavy defeat last year in the hands of Klipfontein at the very same ground.
Swallows went down to the Ndlambe Coast with an anew-look unit and with only one thing on their minds – to rewrite history and turn the tables around. The visitors enjoyed a smooth 10-0 lead at the break and were in a commanding position after 40 minutes. The encounter was played in a very good spirit as both teams played some exciting and entertaining rugby, giving the large crowd their money’s worth. It was a physical battle as expected, and ferocious tackling was the order of the day. Credit to both sides for their competitiveness and how they approached the encounter.
Swallows made full use of their changes in the first half and were rewarded for their dominance in the scrums and lineouts. Winger Luciano September and centre James May scored fine tries in the first half to give their side a healthy 10-0 lead at the break.
SECOND HALF
With a full 40 plus minutes to go at the beginning of the second half, we expected a comeback from the Never Quit Side, Klipfontein United. As the home side, they got their act together and played with more eagerness and structure, as they launched a fantastic comeback scoring two second-half tries. Both teams’ discipline started to show as they lost focus due to the intensity and climax of the game. Both sides wanted the win, both sides came hard at each other, and both sides received yellow cards.
United showed early signs on the attack as speedster Dylan Graaf once again showed his explosive speed and scored for the home side as he put his side on the board to narrow matters 10-5. The visitors regained their confidence again soon after, extending their lead with a brilliant try by Potgieter, converted by Jason Henson. Swallows led 17-5. Swallows went into sleep mode in the last 20 minutes of the second half with a lot of repeated infringements that led to United’s second try which was scored by Junaid Van Rensburg, to make it 17-10. Swallows almost threw it away but their cohesive defence was once again up for the task. The last 10 minutes of the game were a see-saw affair and it was either a case of Swallows extending their lead and winning, or United scoring and drawing the game. But Swallows’ rock solid defence stood firm and prevented the home side from scoring.
Swallows secured a 17-10 away win and with four points in the bag.
Swallows 1st Reserve beat Klipfontein 24-13 in the main curtain-raiser of the day.
Swallows Head Coach Weston du Plessis expressed his delight in his side’s away win but was also not entirely happy with the team’s discipline in the second half. “The game was played in a very good spirit but in the second half, our boys lost their focus. We dominated both the scrums and lineouts and were very effective at the breakdowns. I was also happy with the attacking prowess of our boys led by Jason with the assistance of a guy like Ethan September shortly on his heels,” du Plessis said.
Photo: Klipfontein Rugby United.
“Stefan Mentoor was an “Yster” on defence and Jody Duiker was a good link between forwards and backs, which led us to score tries. As a Coaching Staff, we are happy with the progress but remain patient and disciplined enough, whilst the players buy-in on what we bring to them. We realise it’s a process and we are happy with the process and development of players. The individual development of players is important as part of the process” du Plessis added.
The Grocott’s Mail/Daniels MEDIA Man of the Match undoubtedly went to the workhorse captain of Swallows, Jason Potgieter. He once again showed his skills and class and proved why he is rated one of the best flankers around. This hard man always gives 100%+ in every game he runs on and this game was no different. He was brilliant with the ball in hand; his cohesive and ferocious tackles were brutal, while he also dominated the lineouts. Potgieter also scored a brilliant try and was on song at the breakdowns.
OTHER RESULTS:
RHODES 22-8 OC
NDLAMBE TIGERS 19—17 KOWIE UNITED
*Meanwhile, the following players of Swallows and Klipfontein made the SEDRU Team that will take part in the SUB UNION DAY on Thursday 27 April 2023:
SWALLOWS – Jason Henson and Ruwayden Sias
KLIPFONTEIN – Luciano Gunn and Fabian Van Rensburg
