Boksburg clinch thriller against Brakpan
Kaufela Boksburg overturned a 16-point half-time deficit to edge local rivals G5 Metals Brakpan 34-33 in a dramatic Valke Peregrine League match at Prince George Park on Saturday, May 31.
Brakpan led 27-11 during the recess.
The homeside enjoyed a flying start with Ashley Buchler converting two early penalties to make it 6-0, but were soon pegged back by the visitors, who quickly responded with a converted try following multiple phases inside the Owls’ 22-metre area.
The visitors soon after added to their advantage through a penalty to make it 10-6.
The end-to-end action continued and Boksburg regained the lead with their first try through winger Dean Swartz, who dotted down before suffering a hamstring scare. With squad kicker Buchler receiving side-line treatment, flyhalf Ryan Julius assumed the kicking duties and missed the resulting conversion, 11-10 to Boksburg.
With neither side taking full control of the game, Brakpan again took the lead through a penalty which triggered the pendulum to swing their way.
The Owls suffered their fair share of struggles in the breakdown, with Brakpan’s burlier forwards winning the majority of the 50-50 collisions. With the homeside failing to protect the ball in a ruck deep inside their half, Brakpan won a turnover which resulted in an easy converted try, resulting in a 20-11 lead.
Ill-discipline cost Willie Smith’s men dearly, when the visitors were handed a penalty-try soon after, which saw lock Marcell Fourie join his teammate John Bester in the sin bin, who received a yellow card just two minutes earlier.
The Owls began the second-half like they did the first, with Buchler slotting through a penalty to make it 27-14. Brakpan’s lead was further cut down to six with Calvin Jantjies following up with a try, with Buchler again converting.
The come-back onslaught continued when a well-worked move, which combined pace and quick hands, was finished off by Swartz, who touched down for his second try of the day.
Buchler put his side back in the lead with the extra two. Boksburg were at this stage leading 28-27.
With the match heading for an intense finish, both teams needed a game breaker and it came in the form of Boksburg’s Julius, who slotted a dramatic drop-goal to hand his side a memorable victory.
Boksburg assistant coach, Fillip Lemmer said the team’s half-time talk triggered the come-back win.
“We just told the guys to not lose hope; we told them that being 16 points down, we had nothing to lose,” he said.
“We haven’t beaten Brakpan in a long time, and we wanted to end our curse of starting off games well, only to lose them in the end,” the coach added.
“They came hard at us in the first-half, but we weathered the storm and began to play our game. The boys showed true determination and spirit.
“Ashley (Buchler) suffered a hand injury, but he insisted on playing on through the pain and he converted everything.
“Thank you to the fans for all the support and well done to the boys.” – @SabeloBoksburg
