By Chesley Daniels
Grahamstown Brumbies Rugby Club profoundly reclaimed the famous Abrahams-Brooks Stallion Cup with an emphatic 38-33 win over PE Harlequins at the Rhodes Prospect Field in Makhanda on Saturday afternoon.
The annual memorial event and fixture had taken a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Harlies were still the holders when they came up against Brumbies.
A Prospect field packed with a large crowd and a sunny day provided the perfect atmosphere for the spectacular battle.
The spectators were certainly treated to some highly entertaining running rugby, long range tries, big hits and high intensity rugby.
The game was played in good spirit and camaraderie.
Both teams came out with only one thing on their minds – to win the prestigious Stallion Cup.
Brumbies were looking for revenge after they lost heavily to Harlies at the Adcock Stadium in Gqeberha in their second round Epru Grand Challenge Top 12 fixture, having also lost the Stallion Cup a few years ago.
But Saturday was a different ball game.
Brumbies started the first half like a house on fire, making their intentions very clear in the 6th minute when captain and hooker Garin Strydom scored the first try of the match. Flyhalf Merlin du Plessis converted to give the hosts a 7-0 lead.
The powerful and mobile forwards of Brumbies asserted their dominance, especially in the scrums where they won numerous scrum penalties. The visitors struggled in the scrums and lineouts as the home side capitalised with a try by prop Tevin Pillay later on in the 16th minute.
It was Brumbies all the way in the first half, playing with immense confidence, running from their own 22m and scoring points at regular intervals. Brumbies’ talented fullback Nolan Soyes was in sublime form at the back and broke numerous line breaks in the middle, gaining meters whilst also assisting in some tries.
The hosts scored further tries in the form of Attie Mfazwe, Merlin du Plessis and Garin Strydom, while Du Plessis successfully slotted four conversions and a penalty as Brumbies took a healthy and commanding 31-0 at halftime.
The spectators were in for an exciting second half as the Brumbies looked to seal the match and humiliate the hosts. But that was not the case as a stern halftime talk by the coaching and management team of the Harlies seemed to do the trick.
A totally different Harlies team came out of the changing room and brought the large crowd to their feet in the second half. The visitors made numerous changes and just 40 seconds after kick off, scored a converted try.
The Brumbies started making unforced errors as a determined Harlies side came hard at them, putting the home side under constant pressure. Defensive lapses by the home side saw Harlies score their second converted try in the 27th minute as the score read 31-14 in favour of the hosts.
Brumbies had a few scoring opportunities but couldn’t convert as they started to panic.
The game started to get more aggressive and brutal, resulting in a red and a yellow card for the home side.
Despite playing with 13 men, Brumbies managed to score a try in the 35th minute when Garin Strydom completed his brace. Brumbies led 38-14 but a never-die attitude by Harlies’ replacement players made their impact felt by running hard at the home side and scoring two quick tries in the space of one minute to narrow matters to 38-28.
Play continued after the try with one minute left on the clock. Harlies received the ball straight from the kick off and started to attack from their own 22m, launching wave after wave of attack, setting up phases and giving the ball a lot of air.
However, the time was up on the clock already as the ball was alive and Harlies were in possession.
With the Brumbies players on the back foot and looking miserable and tired, Harlies scored an injury time 42nd minute try but it was all too little too late, handing Brumbies a deserved 38-33 win and the local side going on to reclaim the Stallion Cup.
Various players stood out and were in contention for the man of the match award. Captain of Brumbies, Garin Strydom, who scored two tries and had a solid all-round performance; Merlin du Plessis who contributed 18 points on the day and pivotal at flyhalf.
But it was Brumbies’ fullback Nolan Soyes who got the nod from the adjudicators for his sterling individual performances from the back and having been involved in numerous try assists, a solid defence and dangerous on attack.
A relieved Brumbies’ vice president, Guiliano Flotman, praised his team’s first half performance and composure to hold on to their lead. “The Stallion Cup is very dear to us as it’s named after two founding members – the late Desmond Twans Abrahams (first official coach) and the late Gabriel Brooks (first president). The guys were very passionate, especially the new guys who never knew about the Cup or never even seen the Cup, and the history and what it meant to us. After that, the Cup serves as a motivation to the guys in order to excel.
“The victory especially meant a lot to Gabriel Brooks’ wife who was in attendance and was very emotional when handing over the floating trophy to the winning captain. So, it also serves as motivation for us for the upcoming Epru Grand Challenge league which starts next week. This week we will take a well-deserved break for the guys to heal and look after their injuries, as we are waiting for Epru to release the official fixtures.” Flotman said
