By Chesley Daniels
Missionvale United stunned Grahamstown Brumbies with a 25-17 win in their EPRU Grand Challenge Group A-League fixture in Missionvale, Gqeberha on 3 June.
Brumbies are currently still in 3rd position on the log while Missionvale is in 5th position. Both teams entered the contest with wins behind their backs from the previous week – Brumbies had demolished Windvogel United 38-0 at the Oval, and Missionvale had recorded an impressive 21-18 away win against Despatch.
FIRST HALF
It was very windy, and the home side adapted better to their known conditions. The Brumbies’ main weapon was also neutralised, with the home side needing to revert to uncontested scrums to halt the Brumbies comeback.
Missionvale was first to score a try and took an early 5-0 lead. The game continued to be physical and brutal with some tension in between. Brumbies immediately hit back with a try by Siyathemba Sqi but conceded another try due to poor defence. This left the home side with a 12-5 lead at halftime.
SECOND HALF
What happened next was extraordinary. The Brumbies monster pack went into next gear, led by Tevin Pillay, Damon Geswind, and Diego Isaacs. They literally scrummed the opposition into submission, so much so, that all Missionvale props left the field (allegedly injured) while the last recognized prop received a yellow card.
In doing so, Missionvale, “sportingly” neutralised Brumbies’ main attacking weapon. But Brumbies were rewarded for their dominance in the scrum and received a penalty try to level matters at 12-12. The home side then regained the lead with a successful penalty to make it 15-12, halfway through the second half.
An enforced error by Brumbies resulted in Missionvale scoring a try against the run of play to extend their lead to 22-12. Brumbies never gave up and hit back with a try by Pieter-John Dido, to narrow matters as Missionvale led 22-15. Brumbies were in striking distance in the last ten minutes of the game and continued to attack despite the strong windy conditions, but made silly errors at crucial moments.
A penalty conceded by Brumbies saw the home side slotted a late penalty.
FINAL SCORE: MISSIONVALE UNITED 25-17 GRAHAMSTOWN BRUMBIES
MAN OF THE MATCH
Veteran Mario Maw O’Brien was the recipient of the Grocott’s Mail/Daniels MEDIA Man of the Match Award for Brumbies. The experienced 8th man was very powerful with the ball in hand on the attack. His strong ball carries put his side on the front foot. He was also massive on defence, and very effective at the breakdowns, winning a few turnovers as well.
The next match for Brumbies will be against their noisy neighbours, Trying Stars in Alexandria.
