Monnas survive EG Jansen fightback

Monument triumphed 32-26 away at EG Jansen in an eight-try thriller on Saturday

This was the teams' third encounter of the season with each side having previously tasted victory.

Monument raced into a 24-0 lead, with tries from flanker Reyno Potgieter, fullback Ivan Smit and winger Stian Joubert all converted by flyhalf Xander Kruger.

The hosts responded with two tries from hooker Werner Fourie and centre Erich Cronjé, which were converted by flyhalf Xander Crause, to make it 24-14 at the break.

The second half saw the hosts pile on the pressure early on as Crause converted his own try to bring them to within three points.

After a penalty from Kruger, the sides exchanged tries, the first from Monnas centre MJ Pelser, followed by one from EG Jansen flanker Dillon Robus.

'It was a see-saw battle,' Monument coach Hans Coetzee told SARugbymag.co.za. 'Our defence was initially very good, we retained possession well and ran from most areas of the pitch. We also limited our kicking throughout the game and played an attacking style of rugby. It was one of the best schoolboy rugby games you could ever hope to watch.'

EG Jansen coach Anton Lubbe bemoaned his side’s poor start.

'They hit the front hard in the beginning, and I think we were a bit shell-shocked. We made too many mistakes early on, but came back to play good rugby. We had three or four opportunities to finish the match, but didn’t use them. Anybody could have won that game.'

Monument – Tries: Reyno Potgieter, Ivan Smit, Stian Joubert, MJ Pelser. Conversions: Xander Kruger (3). Penalties: Xander Kruger (2).
EG Jansen – Tries: Werner Fourie, Erich Cronjé, Xander Crause, Dillon Robus. Conversions: Xander Crause (3). 

Schools rugby results (30 May)

Photo: Walter Louw/LionsWorld Facebook page