Playing catch up costs Boksburg in Valke final
There were scenes of sheer excitement at Bosman Stadium on Saturday, July 13, when Brakpan Rugby Club's first XV met Boksburg Rugby Club in the final of the Valke Peregrine League.
A large crowd of both Brakpan and Boksburg rugby fans gathered to support their hometown heroes.
The match had extra emphasis, as the winners would represent the Valke in the Cell C Community Cup, next year.
It was always going to be a tough encounter for the less fancied Boksburg, who would have to pull off something really special to beat the third-best open community club in South Africa.
This was proven when Brakpan won 49-26.
The home-side opened the scoring early, with a converted try, and added to their tally soon after with an unconverted try, courtesy of a powerful rolling maul.
The score remained at 12-0 for some time in the first half, before Boksburg hit back with a try and two penalties, to take the lead.
Brakpan found it in themselves to score a converted try in the corner and, a few moments before the whistle touched the referee’s lips, Boksburg slotted another penalty, taking the teams into the break at 19-16, in favour of Brakpan.
A penalty soon after and another unconverted try stretched the score to 27-16.
The visitors added another three points, but it was Brakpan who began to run away with the game and turn up the heat.
Another unconverted try from the hosts took the score to 32-19 before Boksburg added another seven points.
Three more tries from Brakpan, including an intercepted try at the end, ensured a 49-26 victory and a place in the 2014 Cell C Community Cup.
Brakpan’s number seven and Namibian international, Jacques Nieuwenhuis, took the Man of the Match award.
“We held them for 60 minutes,” says Boksburg’s chairman Sean Scheepers.
The problem for the Owls was that they found themselves chasing the match.
“You can’t play catch up rugby in a final,” says Scheepers.
“We ended up making mistakes playing catch-up rugby.”
Boksburg’s u-21 side was also on the wrong side of the result, as they lost 29-23 to Brakpan in a hotly-contested affair.
Although Boksburg lost in both finals, the club can hold its head high, as it has been a good season for them.
“We won two out of the five leagues (second and third teams) and had two sides in the final,” says the chairman.
Scheepers says that the club will not rest on its laurels.
“We will go back and see where we went wrong and try to improve,” he says.
