BARLA U21's High Fives in South Africa

SOURCE: www.barla.org.uk

HIGH FIVES IN SOUTH AFRICA UNISON BARLA GREAT BRITAIN YOUNG LIONS v SOUTH AFRICA RHINOS UNDER 21S MATCH REPORT

South Africa Under-21s 30
Unison BARLA Great Britain Young Lions 44

Brakpan Rugby Club, Johannesburg

THREE red cards, three yellows, 14 tries and, unfortunately, three players carried off injured. To say this game had everything would almost be an understatement.

The important statistic for the Young Lions was that their tour had ended with a 100-percent success rate as they beat an impressive South African Rhinos’ Under-21s after trailing twice in the first half. Sadly, however, their winger Matthew Bell was hospitalised after clashing heads with teammate Tom Spencer, leaving him with a depressed fracture of the cheekbone and a broken nose. Spencer was unconscious for a few minutes but recovered.

After the national anthems and the introduction of the great winger of the 1950s and 1960s Tom van Vollenhoven, the guest of honour, to the players, the crowd observed an impeccable minute’s silence for the victims of the shooting last Wednesday in West Cumbria; which, tragically for the Rugby League community, included Garry Purdham, the former Whitehaven and Workington Town stalwart.

The bizarreness of the game was encapsulated in its early stages as BARLA completely dominated but found themselves 8-0 down after quarter of an hour. They bombed numerous chances and could do nothing as the hosts scored from their only attacks. Firstly, the huge prop, Bruce Muller, a full South Africa international, barged over from a tap penalty close to the line and then hooker Leon Oosthuizen intercepted a stray pass and offloaded to his winger Ettiene Bouwer to touch down.

The Lions eventually got on the board when their captain, Mark Ballard, scooted over from dummy-half, and they took the lead six minutes later when Pat Foulstone scored from a well-worked scrum move. Stand-off Ross Gainford converted both.

In between the two tries, Dewalt Smit was sin-binned for a number of offences, the last of which was a high tackle. He was later red-carded for a similar offence.

The Rhinos hit the lead again when Franco Pearson scored in the corner despite Daniel Rooney’s despairing dive and Jacques du Ploet converted magnificently from the sideline but within a couple of minutes Spencer muscled his way over the line, with Gainford’s goal opening up a four-point lead.

Just before half-time, Gainford missed a field-goal attempt before the hosts stunned the Lions when Stefan Erasma was the lucky recipient of a wickedly bouncing ball following du Ploet’s bomb. The stand-off’s missed conversion left the score at 18-all at half-time.

But the Lions put the game to bed with an outstanding first ten minutes of the second half, responding to a rousing team talk from head coach, Garry Schofield. There seemed to be no danger when Daniel Rooney received the ball in the right-centre position 20 metres out but he stepped, pushed players off and wrestled his way over the line for an outstanding try.

Even that was upstaged by Karl Sandford’s try four minutes later. The big forward received the ball in the same channel, but at least ten metres further out, dummied his way through and side-stepped a bemused Erasma to score a wonderful try, which Gainford converted.

Ballard was next to break open the home defence, storming towards the posts where he was felled by Erasma. But with the defence hopelessly out of position, Gainford scored from dummy-half and kicked the easy goal to give his side an impregnable 16-point advantage.

Muller scored again from close range with Lucas Pruis, another full Rhino international, converting to reduce the gap to 10 before Spencer and Bell’s unfortunate clash which stopped the game for several minutes. But the Lions restored their 16-point lead when substitute Daniel Rowse produced the pass of the match to put Matthew Huby through a yawning gap to score.

Foulstone scored his second with ten remaining - a superb individual effort beating numerous defenders with great footwork - but with the game gone, the hosts’ discipline totally deserted them as an occasionally fractious game completely blew up.

Duminy was sent off for abusing referee Joe Cobb and was followed down the tunnel by their trainer who got the same treatment for the same offence. From the kick-off, Smit charged in, swung an arm at Lewis Wilson and was red-carded. Rowse and Bouwer came to blows a couple of minutes later and Cobb, in danger of some sort of repetitive-strain injury, produced his fifth card in three minutes of play as he sin-binned both players.

The last word went to the home side, who scored again from another Hail-Mary kick as the bounce fooled everybody apart from Pearson, who scored his second.

As Cobb ended proceedings, the British players celebrated their perfect tour record before booting 30 signed balls, generously donated by ’League Express’ and ’Rugby League World’, into an appreciative crowd, most of whom were still rooted to their seats stunned at the unbelievable 80 minutes of Rugby League - and everything else - they had just witnessed.

Unison BARLA Great Britain Young Lions
4 Pat Foulstone (Shaw Cross)
2 Matthew Bell (Thatto Heath)
15 Daniel Rooney (Maryport)
24 Greg Worrall (Oldham St Annes)
14 Jack Murray (Egremont Rangers)
5 Ross Gainford (Kells)
8 Kenny Hughes (Thatto Heath)
19 Tom Spencer (Wigan St Pats)
1 Mark Ballard (Leigh East) (C)
18 Stevie Scholey (Maryport)
12 Kurtis Marsh (Pilkington Recs)
7 Matthew Huby (Wath Brow Hornets)
11 Daniel Jones (Leigh Miners)
Subs (al used)
6 Adam Gant (Westgate)
9 Tom Hurdus (Saddleworth)
13 Adam Masson (Shaw Cross)
16 Daniel Rowse (Lock Lane)
17 Karl Sandford (Thatto Heath)
20 Liam Thompson (Queens)
23 Lewis Wilson (Kells)

Tries: Ballard (18), Foulstone (24, 70), Spencer (36), Rooney (42), Sandford (46), Gainford (50), Huby (62)
Goals: Gainford 6/8

Sin bin: Rowse (74 - fighting)

SOUTH AFRICA
1 Stefan Erasma (C)
2 Ettiene Bouwer
3 Conrad Swanepoel
4 Dewalt Smit
5 Franco Pearson
6 Jacques du Ploet
7 Wynand Breytenbach
8 Nel de Wet
9 Leon Oosthuizen
10 Bruce Muller
11 Darren Botha
12 Darton Duminy
13 Mark McKellhan
Subs (all used)
14 Freddie Hells
15 Frans Kellerman
16 Dwane Strauss
17 Kettie Olivier
18 Lusanda Zumana
19 Lucas Pruis
20 Mitch Breda

Tries: Muller (8, 53), Bouwer (14), Pearson (34, 80), Erasma (40)

Dismissals: Duminy (70 - dissent), Smit (72 - swinging arm)
Sin-bins: Smit (22 - repeated offences), Bouwer (74 - fighting)

Men of the Match
Young Lions: Daniel Jones
South Africa Schools: Mark McKellhan

GAMEBREAKER: Fabulous individual tries by Daniel Rooney and Karl Sandford early in the second half put the game beyond the South Africans.

GAMESTAR: Daniel Jones was absolutely everywhere for the full 80 minutes delivering an all-action display of the highest order.

TOP TACKLE: Jones hammered Stefan Erasma late on, dislodging the ball in the process.

Scoring sequence: 4-0, 8-0, 8-6, 8-12, 14-12, 14-18, 18-18, 18-22, 18-28, 18-34, 24-34, 24-40, 24-44, 30-44

Penalty count: 5-17
GLDO Forced: 0-0
Half-time: 18-18
Referee: Joe Cobb

Richard de la Rivière
Unison BARLA Great Britain Young Lions PRO

Steve Manning
BARLA Media Manager

Where next?

Vikings and Dales Triumph SOURCE: www.sporthull.co.uk

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