By Chesley Daniels
Grahamstown Brumbies 1st XV recorded its first win in the top flight Eastern Province Rugby Union (Epru) SCORE Grand Challenge Top 12 competition against PE Harlequins.
The Makhanda side produced an impressive performance to clinch a clinical 33-20 bonus point win at the Rhodes University Great Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Stallions also took a commanding 23-10 lead at halftime and dominated matters after the break.
The all-awaited derby between these two top clubs eventually surfaced on Saturday in front of thousands of supporters both from Makhanda, Gqeberha and Alexandria. There was much pre-match hype and banter on social media during the week. The atmosphere was electrifying and the environment just perfect for a clash of this calibre. The weather was hot and humid but failed to keep enthusiastic rugby lovers away. The fans certainly got full value for their money.
Both teams needed to be complimented for entertaining the large crowd with brilliant running rugby from the kick off, as both teams didn’t disappoint.
The much needed confidence bonus point win saw Brumbies and Harlequins both with a win and a defeat behind them in the early stages of the “Strength vs Strength” competition.
As expected, the game started at a very high tempo and intensity, very physical, competitive and was played in a very good spirit. Harlies started like a house on fire as their inspirational captain and speedster Dayle Nel (wing) got his side off to a blistering start from the kick off with a brilliant converted try within two minutes. The visitors took an early 7-0 lead and put the home side under pressure early in the first half. But the Brumbies had other plans as their loud and cheering supporters motivated them, with their dominant and powerful pack of forwards winning their first scrum penalty. This was the start of numerous scrum penalties awarded to the home side. The home players kept their composure as Harlies gave the ball lots of air by attacking and coming hard at them, setting up phase after phase with their big ball carriers.
Eventually, the reliable breakdown specialists of Brumbies ensured turnovers that resulted in wing Declan Muller succeeding with two penalty kicks on goal to narrow matters to 6-7 in favour of the visitors. A brilliant chased kick won in the air by young Nolan Soyes in the 12th minute saw him magnificently offloading to youngster and winger Nicklon Williams on his outside shoulder, who ran 45m to score. The conversion was missed as, for the first time in the match, the Brumbies led 11-7. The young and explosive Brumbies’ backline were on fire and were entertaining the crowd with their salubrious pace, skill and explosive stepping and running with ball in hand on attack. These paid dividends as their star player and EP Mighty Elephants hopeful Eldrico Kivitts (centre) brought the large crowd on their feet in the 17th minute with a splendid 80m break through the midfield to run almost the entire length of the field and score the try of the match. Muller converted as the home side extended its lead to 18-7.
Harlies didn’t lay down either despite the missed tackles and sloppy defence. They answered two minutes later with a penalty by full back Ricardo Bruiners while the Brumbies also hit back minutes later with a fine try by their big lock, Bones Cekiso, to bring the score to 23-10 in favour of Brumbies at the halftime break.
The second half started with the visitors flexing their muscles. But a solid start by Brumbies saw them earning an early penalty for a scrum infringement by Harlies’ front row in the third minute. Muller stepped forward and converted as the home side extended its lead to 26-10. Like a top rugby side, Harlies showed their class and a never-say-die comeback.
Brumbies’ centre pairing of Eldrico Kivitts and Chadwill Jegels was in devastating form and dangerous both on attack and defence, winning the battle and outshining the highly rated centre pairing of Fabio Mapaling and Cheswin Van Wyk. The visitors brought on their replacements who immediately made an impact in the context of the game. Cheswin Van Wyk ran great lines at centre in the midfield and gained metres for his side. Harlies prop October scored a well-orchestrated try from a fantastic lineout driving maul in the ninth minute. Brumbies led 26-15. But it was the Brumbies’ hardworking forwards who constantly dominated matters upfront and provided quality ball possession for their speedy and skillful backs. Harlies continued to make unforced errors on attack and put themselves under enormous pressure whilst the Brumbies were seeking their fourth bonus point try.
The home side put the opposition further on to the backfoot as their replacement backline player received a yellow card for a dangerous high tackle in the 17th minute. In the 22nd minute of the second half, with Harlies on attack inside the 5m scoring line of the Brumbies, a fantastic hit on defence by the Brumbies saw a loose ball kicked through by veteran lock Monray Evans. Nolan Soyes followed up and chased while his kick through saw the ball landing in the in-goal area where he beat the cover defence and dived on the ball to score a scintillating try. Muller converted the try with Brumbies smelling victory with a lead of 33-15.
The remaining 18+ minutes of the second half were brutally contested. Whilst the Brumbies already secured their fourth bonus point try and were searching for the win, it was the visitors who refused to give up despite the big deficit. Harlies are known for never backing down, and scored in the 39th minute of the second half, what turned out to be a consolation try by replacement Quetyn Oerson. It was unfortunately too little too late for the visitors as the Stallions secured an emphatic 33-20 bonus point win, whilst the crowd sang “Bye Bye Harlies, Bye Bye Harlies, Bye Bye Harlies, we hope to see you again”.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Eldrico Kivitts rightfully earned the Grocott’s Mail/Daniels MEDIA Man of the Match award, having produced yet another sterling and solid all round performance for the Brumbies.
Giuliano Flotman of Brumbies felt very confident after the team’s first win. “To pick up five league points against a former Super 12 and Grand Challenge Champs is massive. We realise though that we haven’t achieved anything yet.”
The team will face Progress away this coming Saturday in a big battle. “Our goal for Progress is to be competitive as it is not easy to face Super 14 and GC teams back to back, but we want to compete and show why we are Makhanda’s top team representative in the Top 12 GC Club.” Said Flotman.
OTHER SCORES BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES:
Brumbies 1st Reserve beat Harlequins 19-13
Brumbies 2nd beat Harlequins 28-0
