Poorte triumphs over heavy Pukke pack
The hard-working loose forward came close to scoring another try but fell just short of the line and grounded a few inches short.
The Roto Tank Roodepoort Rugby Club played its Pirates Grand Challenge fixture against tough visitors – the Pukke.
Poorte were unfortunate to lose lock forward Jojo Tshivhase to an injury in the early stages of the game. The very tall forward walked off the pitch to a round of applause from both teams.
Pukke drew first blood through their no. 12, by making use of a penalty awarded to them within the kicking range of their accurate kicker who made the score 0–3 in favour of the visitors.
The men from Roodepoort had to quickly start managing their game against a determined Pukke side. Poorte’s no. 6, Carl Mellet, forced his way through the Pukke defence to score a well-deserved first try of the day.
The hard-working loose forward came close to scoring another try but fell just short of the line and grounded a few inches short.
Poorte’s no.8, Pieter Mathews, used his strength to cross the line for Poorte’s second try, stretching the lead to 12–3 in favour of the home side.
The visitors were awarded another penalty and their kicker made no mistake about keeping a 100 per cent kicking rate.
The back line ran well with no.10, Wesley Roberts, passing well to inside centre, Stokkies Hanekom, who kicked over the defence line of Pukke for winger Selom Gavor to score a try.
Poorte scored two more tries courtesy of Brandon Rieck and Carl Mellet before halftime and the score was 29–6 to the home side.
The second half started with some quick thinking from the Poorte no.7, Spook van Wyk, as he took a quick penalty to score under the poles.
Poorte’s no.15, Terence Longworth, ran beautifuly from inside his own 22 metre line to score under the poles.
The Poorte defence was watertight on the day, with Ian Pottas and Carl Mellet making a few bone-crunching tackles.
The match ended with the home side leading 60–30, having displayed a good performance on the day and proving that they have depth within their squad, even in the absence of a few players.
Other results on the day were as follows:
• U/21s: Pukke 31–7 Roodepoort
• 3rd team: Pukke 31–10 Roodepoort
• 2nd team: Pukke 45–14 Roodepoort
• 1st team: Pukke 30–64 Roodepoort
