Grey College 52 - 5 Welkom Gim
Grey notch a half century without getting out of second gear
Grey College right wing Pretorius Ekeji on his way to the tryline.
Photo credit: The Weekend Photography
Grey College scored eight tries in a dominant, if error-strewn display, against Tier 2 opposition in the form of near neighbours Welkom Gim in Bloemfontein on Saturday as they warmed up for the 2024 schoolboy rugby season. The country’s default #1 side sent out a warning to their 2024 opponents that they will take some stopping as they bid for a second consecutive unbeaten season.
The 2024 iteration of the Grey 1st XV may not contain as many well-known names as the Class of 2023, but they showed that they have enough firepower in the pack and in the back division to hurt opponents at will. They notched their half century in spite of 5 lost lineouts and a number of basic handling errors that will surely be ironed out by the time they get to Noord-Suid where they will face KES and Jeppe.
Welkom Gim, apart from their solitary try shortly after Grey’s first, were never really in this game and the gulf in class was apparent from the outset as the visitors dropped the kick-off cold, under no pressure.
First Half
In a stop-start opening quarter of an hour littered with handling errors, Welkom Gim were able to frustrate Grey. Only an unforced error allowed Grey to open the scoring when ever-present hooker Liam van Wyk pounced on a loose inside pass from Welkom Gim as he picked off the intercept to score a simple try.
Welkom Gim came storming back and were able to dent Grey’s ego as they scored from a maul close to the line through their hooker Kganya Molalo to reduce the deficit to 5 - 7. That was the start and end of Gim’s resistance unfortunately, only more Grey errors kept the score down.
Powerful wing Pretorius Ekeji, brother of Maties and former Grey wing Paschal, showed on the half hour mark why he will need to closely marked this year as he ran through a few defenders effortlessly on his way to the tryline from the halfway line. There was still time in the first half for van Wyk to score off the back of a typically dominant Grey maul close to the line to make the score 21 - 5 at the break.
Second Half
Grey asserted their dominance in the second period to the tune of 31 - 0 as they carried on from where they left off. From a lineout close to the tryline, excellent inside centre Pieter van der Merwe hit a great line to give the Gim defence no chance of stopping him. This won’t be the last try from this source in 2024!
A few minutes later van Wyk completed his hattrick as he was twice involved in excellent Grey continuity as they stormed upfield through sheer ruck speed and direct intent.
In a moment of levity in the 45th minute, van der Merwe was again over the line off a lineout only for the referee to controversially rule that the ball was held up. You decide!
In a bid to even things out, the referee then allowed livewire Grey scrumhalf Philip McLaren to take a tap penalty and score, even if it was 38m from the mark.
Grey’s backline then produced a great first phase try off the back of a dominant scrum, with some good lines by the centres for replacement wing Ruben Cilliers to profit as he went over adjacent to the poles as he was untouched.
Grey’s final try came through a good solo effort by Xander Smit, son of former Bok Philip Smit and brother of last year’s Grey flank JH Smit. Smit junior showed good strength to fend off a couple of defenders as he scored in the corner to make it 52 - 5 in favour of the hosts.
On the basis of 2023 and this early season hit out, these are some of the Grey players to watch out for in 2024.
Grey College forwards
(2) Liam van Wyk was incredible around the field, especially for his intercept try showing what a great engine he has to be so far upfield for a front rower, but the 5 lost lineouts will not have gone unnoticed by Tiaan Liebenberg, who helps with the pack. He looks to have grown a bit since last year when he burst onto the scene as a unknown u17 and he will be up there with the top try scorers in the country you feel.
(4) Heinrich Theron was an ever-present in the unbeaten Grey pack last year as an u17 lock with huge promise, and he certainly delivered. There are a number of good locks around in 2024, but Theron is probably an early favourite for the SA Schools side as his experience at this level should see him dominate many opponents.
(7) Juliun Cosmo could be the Keegan Scholtz of 2024. The imposing blindside is rather unheralded but could become a key member of the side by the end of the season. His size and workrate at this level make him one to watch.
Grey College backs
(9) Philip McLaren tries to bring tempo to the side with quick taps, the first of which was embarrassingly knocked on. He grew into the game though and scored from a quick penalty in the second half, even if it was taken miles from the mark. He was unfortunate to be behind an SA Schools scrumhalf last year and I expect him to make up for lost time in 2024.
(10) Alzeadon Felix proved to be an accurate kicker on the day as he slotted 6 of 8 conversions. He is more similar in style and physique to Bradley Giddy of 2022, than the kick-at-all-costs Ian van der Merwe of 2023. He is ‘willowy’ to say the least, and could get exposed on defence but a Grey flyhalf will always have more good ball than bad to play with.
(12) Pieter van der Merwe scored what is sure to become his obligatory try off a Grey maul as he hit an excellent (and unstoppable) short line. He also had a legitimate effort chalked off as it was adjudicated that he was held up - a quite dazzling decision by the referee! He was the understudy at 12 to Janco Purchase of Affies in the SA Schools side in 2023, quite wrongly in my opinion. One needs only to watch the clash between the two sides last year to see the error in that selection. I cannot wait for that game this year. van der Merwe will not want for offers to play rugby after school.
(14) Pretorius Ekeji is an absolute tank for a wing and has plenty of speed to go with this strength and size. His try encapsulated what he can do when given even a small bit of room. His other carries were equally dominant, but there was one glaring effort error on defence as he was easily sidestepped on a kick chase. If he can fix this, he will be more than a TikTok sensation in 2024.
Grey College play Grey High in 4 x 15 minute ‘chukkas’ on Saturday at Gill College in Somerset East, in what could prove to be a chastening exercise for the team from PE.