In a season-defining performance, the under-19A rugby team of Paul Roos Gymnasium showed why they are the best schoolboy rugby team in the country, dismantling Grey College 36-3 at the Markötter Field to end their unbeaten season on Saturday (17 August).
In conditions that to many would not have allowed for free flowing rugby, the home team showed their adaptability and played with a clinical precision that left their opponents reeling.
Grey College struck first with a penalty by Hein Stockenstrom in the opening minutes, but that would be their only points of the match. PRG quickly responded, establishing their dominance with a well-executed rolling maul in the eighth minute, allowing hooker Altus Rabie to cross the line for the opening try, expertly converted by flyhalf Joshua Dampies.
Moments later, Rabie once again made his presence felt, this time with a crunching tackle that dislodged the ball from Grey flyhalf Alzeadon Felix. Inside centre Samuel Badenhorst pounced, racing the length of the field to score under the posts (14-3).
The visitors’ defence struggled to cope with the relentless pressure, and on the half-hour mark, Dampies delivered a pinpoint skip pass to winger Matthew Kleyn, who finished in the corner. Although the conversion was missed, PRG entered half-time with a commanding 19-3 lead.
The second half saw the Maroon Machine continue to pile on the pressure. Dampies coolly slotted a long-range penalty (22-3), and a cynical offside by Grey College led to a penalty try, further compounding their woes (29-3).
Reduced to 14 men, the Bloem boys had no answer as PRG continued to dominate. With momentum firmly on their side, the hosts crowned the match – and their season – with a powerful drive by their lock and man-of-the-match Charl Holwill, who crashed over for his team’s final try. Dampies’ conversion made the score 36-3, ending the game in emphatic fashion.
As the final whistle blew, the Markötter erupted in celebration as supporters, scholars and old boys stormed the field. PRG had not only beaten one of their fiercest rivals, but had done so with a performance that will be remembered as one of the greatest in schoolboy rugby history.
