Scrum issues cost Brakpan
Brakpan Herald sports, Brakpan news, CCC Brakpan Rugby Club, Valke Peregrine League, rugby, Harry Niewenhuis, Cyril Lehong
CCC Brakpan Rugby Club’s first team tight five came up short against the rampaging Springs pack in an away game on Saturday.
Brakpan lost 38-12 to the Valke Peregrine League table toppers. The hosts showed their dominance from early on as the forced five tight heads in the match.
So dominant was Springs in the first half you would have been justified if you expected Brakpan to lose by over 50 points. The score was 26-0 to Springs at halftime.
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The visitors, to their credit, refused to lie down as they made changes to their forward pack and managed to make a game of it.
George Giesing and Andrew van Wyk each scored a try while the latter kicked one conversion over.
“We were bulldozed,” said Brakpan’s chairperson Harry Nieuwenhuis.
“In the second half the team came into it and we brought in some U21 forwards into the field and managed to draw the second half.”
It was the problem upfront which reared its ugly head for Brakpan. This was an issue that they seemed to have sorted out in their last three matches but it was not to be against Springs.
Nieuwenhuis is, however, optimistic that his side can still do well this season.
“We have Boksburg, Benoni and Vereeniging still coming. We can still make the semi-finals,” he said.
“But we don’t want to play just to go to the semi-finals, we want to play to win the whole competition. But unfortunately, our problem still lies with our scrummaging.”
Brakpan might have suffered in the scrums against Springs but they did more than hold their own in previous games. This is something that can encourage them.
“Springs are the in-form side this year. They are the benchmark team. They have been doing this to all the other clubs as well. So they are a good side and well trained.
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“But it’s easy when you are going forward but you can’t play rugby on the back foot. When we had the ball in the second half we showed that they can be beaten,” said the chairman.
It was not all doom and gloom for Brakpan as their U21 side remained unbeaten by edging Springs 21-18.
The second side narrowly lost 21-19.
Brakpan will host Boksburg at the Bosman Stadium tomorrow (Saturday).
