Gardens shatters ERU’s golden dream
United captain, Botha, said in the end that rugby was the winner, and he was spot on. For Gardens, better ball retention, better reading of the game, better discipline and more aggression, was the winner.
East Rand United Pool B rivals Gardens broke Reiger Park hearts when they defeated the home town side 37-32 in the third and final round of the round-robin phase of the Gold Cup at the Graveyard on March 23.
They ultimately eliminated the Reiger Park outfit from the competition.
It was always going to come down to the minor details that would separate the two proud teams that proved to be closely matched.
In the end, it was the visitors from Uitenhage who brought along with them a bevy of passionate supporters, who got it right.
United have the players, especially ones with the X-factor – the likes of captain Jonathan Botha, Cameron Rooi and his centre partner Waylon Thompson.
But so did the visitors, who boasted feisty characters the likes of scrum-half Marlon Lewis, who, together with flanker Diego Williams, controlled the game’s tempo ever so well, and Kenny Bayman, to list a couple.
United have the swagger and a very healthy following, with The Graveyard full to capacity once again – but so does Gardens – as mentioned before.
Last, but certainly not least, United, despite being wildcards, were full value for their inclusion in the country’s premier club rugby tournament and they sure played like it as well.
It all combined to produce one helluva humdinger, one which produces a similar kind of atmosphere generated when the Springboks and All Blacks clash when both teams are at their best.
But unlike the hosts, Gardens held their nerve better at stages when they trailed and it was none more evident when United came out firing in the second half and scored two quick tries courtesy of backline pair Thompson and the in-form Jackie Jonkers.
The half-time score was 12-16 to Gardens.
Jonkers, at the time, had given United a healthy 27-16 lead before Rooi added the extras from the subsequent conversion to make it 29-16.
The Reiger Park rugby gods were begging for big match temperament (BMT) from the home side – who were all over Gardens like a rash following the half-time restart.
Instead, it was Gardens, who have more experience at this level it must be mentioned, who showed BMT as they began to eat into the lead.
Marshalled by the calm head of coach Maarman Reece, Gardens worried the United faithful as they almost immediately rallied back first with a penalty try to cut the deficit to 29-23.
United followed their same pattern when they defeated Secunda where they trailed at the break, dominated most of the second half and then somehow managed to allow the opposition to come back; fortunately on that occasion, United managed to hold on.
Gardens, however, punished those frailties.
Their penalty try was followed by a gifted try when United failed to clear from their red zone. A weak clearance effort was gathered by Gardens fullback Bayman, who spotted a big gap in United defence and sprinted to score in the corner. A failed conversion meant United were suddenly leading 29-28.
Rooi momentarily eased the pressure from a penalty to give his side a four-point breathing space. But there was still a sense of United not being in control of the game.
Indeed, Gardens’ replacement kicker Ruben de Vos ensured that United faithful remain uncomfortable when he notched over a penalty of his own to again narrow the gap to just one entering the game’s dying minutes.
The visitors, who were spurred on by their vocal followers, kept at it, demoralising United.
With the stamina gauge on empty for almost every player on the park and the desperation gauge heightening, mistakes crept in – and it was the home side who made more of them.
De Vos punished, helping his side regain the lead after a long stretch trailing, 34-32.
He would soon after add another to put the result beyond doubt and extend the lead to five.
UPool B final standings:
College Rovers (2017 finalists; Sharks) 11 points
Gardens (Eastern Province) 10 points
East Rand United (Valke) 7 points
Secunda (Pumas) 4 pts
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United’s second-half burst sinks Secunda
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