Limpopo Blue Bulls flank Renzo du Plessis was named Craven Week Hero of the Day for his outstanding performance against Griquas.
The Limpopo Blue Bulls trailed 14-0 at the break, but took the fight to Griquas in the second half with a gritty collective effort to outscore their opponents 24-21. In the end, though, Griquas saw off the second-half onslaught to claim a thrilling 35-24 triumph.
Notwithstanding the defeat, Du Plessis emerged as the best player in this match.
Congrats to Renzo du Plessis from Unitrans Limpopo for being selected as Energade Player of the Day at the U18 SA Rugby Craven Week @EnergadeSA pic.twitter.com/h0HH2OTjVD
— SA Rugby Youth Weeks (@YouthWeeks) July 2, 2019
He was excellent at the breakdown and in defence, completing several turnovers and pulling off couple of big tackles. But he will not be remembered for his pilfering or dominant hits in this match. It’s the blindside flank’s 103m solo try that will long live in the memory.
With his team under pressure and going backwards from a defensive scrum on their own tryline, scrumhalf KT Sono somehow managed to get the ball out to his halfback partner Divan van Zyl, who threw a hospital pass to Du Plessis. Stationed behind his own posts, the flank took off on a storming run through the heart of Griquas’ defence, leaving several would-be tacklers in his wake before handing off two cover defenders to score one of the great Craven Week tries.
Photo: Carl Fourie/Gallo Images
