United’s second-half burst sinks Secunda
The half-time score was 10-8 in favour of the visitors.
It was literally a club’s collective effort from the fans, to the players on the field and some brilliant individual showings as East Rand United defeated Pool B opponents Sasol Secunda 34-22 in their Saru Gold Cup second round fixture at Reiger Park on March 16.
But a second-half blitzkrieg from the home team, which saw them outscore Secunda 26-12, blew the pool wide open with one more round to go after Gardens beat College Rovers 30-28 in the pool’s other tie.
Having come from the back of a humbling defeat by Rovers in Durban in their opening game a fortnight ago, this encounter was a must win for Colin Lloyd and his United side. The couple few opening minutes suggested otherwise as they found themselves on the back foot early in the game.
Secunda secured the ball from a line-out inside United’s 22m area before their powerful forwards helped with the game’s opening converted try from a clean rolling maul.
The visitors extended their lead to 10-0 shortly after from a penalty in front of United’s goal posts.
United’s right wing, Jackie Jonkers, brought his side back to life after a nicely recycled ball gifted him with enough space to sidestep a Secunda defender before finishing in the corner to reduce the deficit to five. Kicker Cameron Rooi failed to convert.
After a controlled start, the visitors let the hosts back in the game straight after kick-off from Jonkers’ touchdown when Secunda lock Calvin Clerk played United’s number eight, Tyronne Schaper, in the air. Not only did Clerk get a yellow card for his troubles, it allowed United to get their tails up.
Rooi ensured, moments later, that the encounter goes to the break nicely poised when he converted a penalty from a ruck infringement.
The points came thick and fast in the second-half.
Secunda dominated the possession and territory stats, but United are always deadly with a turnover ball and in broken play. Their first try of the latter half arrived in that manner as replacement scrum half Tiaan Ramat sprinted for approximately 40m as the hosts took the lead for the first time. Rooi converted to make it 15-10.
The kicker was coming into his own as the game progressed and the next try would come from him following a side to side set-piece move to send him over the line. This time, the conversion didn’t go over.
Instead, it sparked an extra motivational injection for the visitors. In a period where the game produced end-to-end action, the visitors hit back with two quick tries and one conversion to momentarily silence ‘The Graveyard’ crowd. United 20-22 Secunda.
The masses, however, did not have to stay silent for long as they were given more reason to cheer by Rooi’s midfield partner, Waylon Thompson, after a similar move from which Rooi scored. The latter converted.
With the crowd roaring and the momentum firmly with the home side, the visitors suddenly looked demoralised while United smelt blood. They indeed went for the kill and succeeded as replacement back Johan Kruger dotted down United’s fifth try of the afternoon. Rooi drove the final nail into the visitors’ coffin with the extras from the conversion for what ended up being a comfortable win.
Secunda coach JJ Hennop said: “We’re very disappointed in ourselves, we made a few bad mistakes. We made some errors defending in the backline and we lost our structure.”
The win wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline suggests, with United surviving a couple of scares from possession loss in the breakdowns and line-outs, as well as from missed tackles. It was what coach Lloyd and captain Jonathan Botha agreed will have to be sorted out immediately, going forward.
The club thanked everyone who was involved on Saturday and gave a special thank you to ladies from Easterns hockey, who were also at the venue in support.
After Springs’ relegation from the competition following their agonising loss to Roodepoort in their Pool D encounter, United, a wildcard participant, remained as the only Valke representative in the competition.
Scorers for East Rand United: Tries: Jackie Jonkers, Tiaan Ramat, Cameron Rooi, Waylon Thompson, Johan Kruger.
Conversions: Cameron Rooi (3). Penalties: Cameron Rooi.
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